Nederim
by Sorell
Summary: The Battle of Northern Chesedonia demolished more than both the Kimlascan and Malkuth militaries. Hoping to give Luke someone that can relate to him, Princess Natalia gives shelter to an amnesiac that lost her memories due to Malkuth fontech. She didn't know exactly what retrieving the memories of her fiancé and her friend would entail.
1. Interludium

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 1 / Interludium

_"Rather than turning the page, it's much easier to just throw the book away." – Anthony Liccione_

* * *

_It was unbefitting of a princess, but Natalia, second in line for the throne of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, was so filled with nervous energy that she had to consciously force herself from releasing it in short, jumpy movements. She did not know if her people would be able to make it back to Baticul before it was too late. There were so many wounded, most of them gravely so, and her skills as a Seventh Fonist did little to alleviate the load of work thrust suddenly upon the few Seventh Fonists and medics that were nearby._

_She looked outside, wishing the expansive sand dunes of Chesedonia would somehow just vanish so her people could reach a hospital quicker. Then she saw it: a ball of purple and yellow that didn't fit the desert landscape, big enough that Natalia could only assume it was human. She straightened, almost immediately opened the door to the carriage before she stopped herself. Kimlascan soldiers' _lives_ were at stake; she shouldn't delay them from receiving the medical attention they desperately needed._

_But she _couldn't_ just leave someone out in the desert; they would die within a few hours if they weren't already dead. They didn't look like part of the Malkuth military, either (not that that would stop her. If someone needed help, it shouldn't matter what country they were from). Throwing caution to the wind in favor of compassion, Natalia opened the carriage door and ran towards the purple form, barely hearing General Cecille's calls for her to come back._

_Natalia reached the person quickly, turned them over so their face wasn't in the sand anymore while checking for a pulse. It was there, slow and faint, but there nonetheless. Without wasting another second Natalia began to cast healing artes on the girl's bleeding forehead. They didn't seem to do much, but the girl responded with a groan from being shifted around so much. The princess tried to wake her up, knowing that falling asleep now wouldn't help the girl at all, but she wasn't able to get any other response out of her. General Cecille showed up at her side then, and Natalia had her and the other soldier that accompanied her bring the girl into another carriage, one that was carrying soldiers with minor wounds. Neither of them questioned her, and she was thankful once more that she could use her title as princess to help people that needed it._

Everything was white, and at first she thought it was because her eyes hadn't adjusted to the brightness of the sun.

It was only after blinking rapidly did she realize that the sun wasn't making everything bright, the room itself was a blank slate. There were some sort of repeating blips and beeps and other sounds, but they sounded fuzzy, almost like she was underwater. She felt numb and dazed and all around completely out of it, and it took her a few moments to actually understand that she had no clue where she was, how she got here, why she was in this void of a room.

She tried to sit up only to fall victim to a dizzy spell, and she thought she might have felt something in her stomach, but the numb feeling stayed with her, dulling her senses. She managed to stay sitting, putting a hand to her head to try and make everything stop spinning. There was something rough wrapped around it. Why was there something on her head?

Her hand flew away from her temple stained slightly red. That was when she began to panic. She knew what the red color was, but why was she bleeding? Why was she in this room? With wide eyes, she scanned the room as quickly as she could, trying to keep breathing steadily despite how difficult getting air into her lungs became.

It was white, almost everything was white and she didn't like it. The bed was white, the walls, the curtain that blocked out the rays of sunlight that tried to filter into the room. The speed of the beeping picked up, and her eyes darted over to where she thought the sound was coming from. There was a box in the corner—white in color—with a black screen and lines darted up and down. On the other side of the room was some sort of bag, filled with a clear liquid that was attached to a pole. A tube ran from the bottom of the bag, and following its path, she began to panic again. It went into her arm, and she didn't understand. Where _was_ she?What _happened?_

A loud banging sound made her jump, and she instinctively leaned as far back as she could, which was rather difficult because she couldn't feel her arms and legs. A person came in from the open door—she didn't even see the door, it blended in with everything else—dressed in white. Why was everything so _colorless_?

"Casarmg chis nonci?"

The voice was soft and feminine, slightly shaky, and it took her a moment to realize that it was her voice. The words were familiar, a small comfort in everything else that was around her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd about them. The person paid her no heed, though, might not have even heard her, before going over to her and doing something. Their hands placed themselves on her shoulders, gently trying to push her back towards the bed, and their mouth was moving, some sort of sounds coming out of it but she either didn't understand or her mind was too muddled from everything to comprehend them. The tone was soothing and nice, but didn't keep the woman in the bed from repeating "Casarmg chis nonci?"

Once her head found its place back onto the white pillow the hands removed themselves from her shoulders, but the persons voice kept on talking in that soothing voice. She stopped repeating the question—the person wasn't going to respond to her apparently—and instead she concentrated on her breathing again. The speed of the beeping slowed down again, and she managed to focus on the person in white.

It was a man. His hair was dark, and his eyes were light, a shade of green that she liked. His coat was white, but the clothes under it were different shades of red and brown and green. He looked rather young. After letting out a sigh, he smiled and said, "See, there's nothing to be afraid of. Everything's all right."

She didn't really understand what he meant, but he seemed relaxed so she tried again. "Casarmg chis nonci?"

At that he frowned. She frowned back. "I don't, uh, understand. Can you understand me?" His eyes darted back to the door and her gaze followed his. Beyond the threshold was a hallway filled with different colors. His eyes met with hers again and his frown deepened. "Nod your head if you can understand me."

She stared at him for a moment, but nodded once. He let out a relieved sounding breath and a grin overtook his features. "Okay, good. That's something." He was quiet for a moment, his eyes drifting away from hers and up towards her head. "Let me rewrap that for you. Is that all right?" When she said nothing, he asked her to nod if it was fine for him to rewrap whatever was on her head.

She complied and, with another grin, he grabbed something from a nearby table. He sat on the edge of the bed, helped her sit up again, and began undoing the thing that was around her head. The cloth came back mostly white, but with a huge dark stain on it. "My name's Imri." He gestured to himself before picking up another roll of white cloth and focusing on her injury again. "I'm not a doctor or Seventh Fonist or anything, so I can't help much—we're a bit short staffed at the moment, so General Cecille and Her Majesty asked us to help. You're stuck with me for the moment, but a real doctor can check you out once all the wounded soldiers are taken care of."

She didn't understand any of those names—she hadn't heard any of them before—so she remained quiet and tried to watch him wrap the cloth around her head. He looked like he was having difficulties with her hair, so she pushed back the blonde bangs that kept falling in her face and in the path of the cloth. He beamed down at her. After another minute he tied off the cloth and relaxed back onto his place on the bed. "There, all better. So, you got a name, or do you want to go back to sleep? You were pretty beat up."

That bothered her. She didn't remember being wounded. The blood was proof that she did get hurt, though. It was a head injury, so perhaps that, in conjunction with whatever was making her numb, was messing with her memory. She remembered he asked her a question. Like Imri had done before, she gestured to herself. "Zirdo…" she paused at his expression. "I… my name is…" she paused again, but this time for a completely different reason.

What _was_ her name? She knew what a name was, she should probably have one. She didn't like these words as much as the others she spoke, the ones he didn't understand. Perhaps that was making it hard to remember her name? They weren't comforting enough for her to remember? "Zirdo…" she tried again, but nothing came to her. A name should be easy to remember. Why couldn't she remember?

"Zirdo?" he repeated. "Is that your name?"

She shook her head. "No… I, I do not…"

Imri frowned. "You don't remember your name?" His tone was soft. She didn't like it.

She leaned forward, screwing her eyes shut and putting her head in between her hands, being mindful of the cloth that Imri had just replaced for her. What was wrong with her? Why was her memory so fuzzy when almost everything else was fine? Most of her senses worked perfectly now. What happened?

"Hey, hey, hey, relax. It's fine," he told her, gently grabbing her wrists and removing her hands from her head. He pushed her back onto the bed softly, getting her to lie down again. "Why don't you rest some more; it might help out. I'll see if I can track down Her Majesty while you sleep, okay? I bet she can help."

She didn't bother replying to him and he stood up, began walking to the door slowly. Instead, she shifted over, towards the window that was covered with the white curtain. A frown settled on her lips at the sight. "Imri?" she asked.

He stayed put, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he said, "Yeah?"

"Will you… move the curtain… please?"

The sound of his shoes moving towards the window was accompanied by a short little chuckle. "Yeah, no problem. All this white would get on my nerves too." He moved the curtain away from the window, and while she couldn't see all the way through it due to the bars and the angle she was lying in, the small patch of blue sky, unmarred by clouds, was visible from her spot. "Try and get some sleep."

She nodded—sleep was likely the only thing that would help her now—but he was already on the other side of the room and couldn't see the gesture. The door shut quietly, and she closed her eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall unconscious.

* * *

When she woke up most of the numbness had worn off, causing her to groan in pain. She preferred being numb. It wasn't unbearable, far from it, but the pain encompasses her entire body, making her ache when she moved the slightest bit. Her head hurt the most, but her skin felt dry and hot and uncomfortable. She was still facing the window, and the small bit of sky she could see was no longer blue, but beginning to turn orange with the setting (or rising, she didn't know how long she slept) sun. There were still no clouds as far as she could tell.

"Oh, you're awake now."

The voice didn't belong to Imri, but didn't seem threatening. The woman in the bed turned away from the window, towards the voice. A blonde-haired teenager sat near her bed on a chair, accompanied by Imri, who was leaning on the wall by the beeping machine, looking bored. The newcomer's hair was short and curly, and her eyes were light green, but still darker than Imri's eyes were. She had on a light pink dress with a matching headband in her hair. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

The woman in the bed looked over to Imri, then back to the girl. Was this 'Her Majesty?'

Her question was answered as Imri straightened up, walked over to the girl's side and said, "This is Her Majesty, Princess Natalia of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear."

Princess Natalia gave her a kind smile. "Please, just call me Natalia. How are you feeling?"

She didn't need to think about that. "I am… in pain. It hurts… to move much."

Natalia nodded, looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I tried to use the Seventh Fonon to heal your head wound and sunburn, but I suppose I have not studied enough… the doctor should be able to heal you when he can." She paused, looked over the woman in the bed before continuing. "Captain Carnelian informed me of your situation. Is it true that you cannot remember who you are?"

The woman nodded slowly. "Yes… That is… correct," she said slowly, as if she was having trouble finding the right words. "But, I remembered… someone called me 'Cass.'"

Imri gave her a large smile and looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained from speaking. Natalia's smile widened as well. "That's wonderful. Do you remember anything else?"

Cass stayed quiet for a moment, thinking hard. Eventually she shook her head. "I apologize… I only remember… Cass."

The princess's smile wavered slightly, but didn't fall from her face. "I see. Would you mind if I gave you a name until you remember? …When the doctor is able to tend to you, we will need a full name for the report."

Cass blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected a princess to be so… attentive to her citizens. Much less someone that might not even be a part of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. "Yes… please do."

Natalia put a finger to her chin and looked like she was in deep thought. "Cass seems rather uncouth for a first name… it must be a nick name…" she muttered, thinking out loud. After a minute, she met Cass's eyes with her own. "Do you like the name 'Cassandra Brightwing?'"

Something about it seemed right, but Cass wasn't sure what. Similarly, there was something very, very off about that name. Regardless, the princess looked like she considered it carefully—it would be rude to not accept it. "Yes, I do… thank you."

"I'm glad," Natalia said, standing up and smoothing out her skirt. "Unfortunately, I have other business to attend to, so I cannot stay with you, Cassandra. Captain Carnelian can stay, if you would like?" Cass nodded, and Natalia continued. "He'll stay here, then. Might I have a word outside, Captain?"

Imri bowed his head, said "Of course, Your Majesty," before walking over to the door, holding it open for the princess. The two left, closing the door behind them, leaving Cass to stare at a wall of white while waiting for Imri to come back in.

"Captain, I'm sure I do not need to inform you of this, but I'm well aware of your escapades. Please note that they will _not_ be tolerated."

It always threw him off when Princess Natalia somehow pulled a complete 180 in personality. She usually seemed like a simple, well-mannered noble girl. Especially in these past few months, while she was with him and the other soldiers in Chesedonia. Her stern expression and tone of voice reminded him that she wasn't some noble's daughter; she was a princess in every sense of the word. Imri nearly threw his hands up defensively, almost spoke to her as if they were on equal footing. "Of course, Princess Natalia."

"Good," she said, before letting her shoulders drop the slightest bit. "I'm relieved. When you told me she had amnesia, I thought it might have been like Luke's…"

Ah, right. Young Master Luke's case of memory loss. He had never been to the Fabre Manor, but he'd heard all about it. Kid couldn't remember a thing. Couldn't talk, didn't know his parent's faces, nothing. The fact that Cass could understand him and eventually said something that wasn't gibberish already proved that her case was leagues better than his. "Yeah, it's not like his, thankfully," Imri agreed. "You may want to inform His Majesty about Miss Brightwing. Malkuth might have invented some sort of new fonon technology to cause amnesia. This is the second case of it that we've seen. I'll speak with General Cecille about it when I can, too."

"I was worried that could be a possibility…" she muttered. "Do so when you have the time. Keep an eye on her, Captain. Please inform me if she remembers anything. And don't overwhelm her with questions."

"Understood, Your Highness." Imri paused for a second. "Permission to speak freely?" Her Highness nodded, granting him permission. "I'm sure that Miss Brightwing's position… hits pretty close to home," he inwardly winced at his phrasing, but the princess paid it no mind. Eloquent speech wasn't one of his strong points. "I just want you to know that we don't know anything about her. With that Colonel Curtiss from Malkuth on the battlefield, I wouldn't put it past Malkuth to try some sort of infiltration. I know you want to help her, but I just feel like you should stay wary, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Captain," she replied. "That is why you'll be keeping an eye on her. Now, I do have other matters to attend to, so if that is all?" Imri nodded and saluted again. He remained at attention until the princess was out of sight, and then he went back into the amnesiac's room.

She was sitting up again, trying to look out the window with a look of pain on her face. At the sound of the door closing behind him, Cass turned around with a somewhat blank expression on her face, like she was confused or something. Imri gave her a smile as he took up the seat Her Majesty was in a few minutes ago. "Hey, Cassie," he greeted jovially, making her eyes furrow in confusion at the name. "Feeling a little better now that you can see outside?"

She stared at him in confusion still. "No… my head and skin… still hurt…"

Imri made a sort of hissing sound, like he was feeling her pain. "Yeah, that's a nasty sunburn you got. The gash on your forehead hasn't been bleeding, though, so that's good. Just take it easy, all right?"

Cass nodded. "I will," she said before turning back to the window. He did the same, checked the sunset out for a minute or two before looking at Cass again. Keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior was a pretty shoddy excuse to stay here, in his opinion. Even if she was acting and the memory loss was all a huge lie, her injuries would make it close to impossible to do anything anytime soon. Not to mention she was possibly the _worst_ candidate to be a spy. If the injuries were inflicted to be convincing, playing at Princess Natalia's compassion, Malkuth pretty much ruined any chance she'd have to get out of bed any time soon.

The princess may have been considered a novice in the use of Seventh Fonons, but he knew from experience that she was good enough to heal something as simple as a sunburn. This chick's fon slots must have been closed, locked, and then buried. They took in almost _nothing._ She was physically weak right now, and if she could barely absorb Seventh Fonons that someone else was controlling, there was no way in hell she was a fonist.

Imri did know that Cass had some form of combat training, just didn't know the extent of it. Her Highness and General Cecille removed both of the weapons she had with her. Who knew where those were now? Chances are she wouldn't get them back anytime soon—if at all—and he could definitely defend himself if she was more of a hands-on kind of girl.

Shifting in his chair slightly, Imri decided to break the silence. "Hey, Cassie, mind if I ask you a question?"

Slowly, she looked away from the window and at the captain. She didn't say anything, but he figured that if she acknowledged that he said something she must just be waiting for him to speak. She definitely didn't mince her words… or speak at all. "That sentence you kept on saying when I came in. What was that?"

Cass looked confused again, eyebrows furrowed together and a small frown on her face. "Oh…" she began slowly. She looked like she was thinking about it, which sort of threw Imri off. She must have said it at least twenty times. Was she just making sounds or something? "I… I do not know, but… it is more… familiar than this. I asked… who you were…"

Huh. He thought everyone spoke the same language on Auldrant, even the people over in Malkuth. Clearly it had a meaning to her, and she was obviously more familiar with that nonsense than the Fonic language everyone spoke now. Imri wasn't exactly fluent in Ancient Ispanian, but he knew enough of it to know she wasn't speaking that.

When Imri didn't say anything else, she must have thought he was done because she faced the window again. He couldn't see them with her back towards him, but he decided he liked the color of her eyes. They reminded him of home, of cold steel just hammered out, perfectly balanced and measured, ready to be put to use on some new fontech device. Her dull blonde hair was messy, had been since General Cecille and Her Majesty found her out in Chesedonia, and looked horrible against her bright red skin. The skin issue would clear up eventually though, and he definitely wouldn't have minded rubbing katholai* gel on her; she _was_ pretty cute. Rather thin, but cute nonetheless.

Regardless of his orders, he knew better than to flirt with her as she was now. She was confused and might get the wrong idea. She didn't seem too well-versed in human interaction, if her slow speech was anything to go by. Besides, for all he knew, she could be married or engaged or something. Imri Carnelian was a lot of things, but he wasn't about to add homewrecker to that list.

* * *

At the request of my dear friend RubyMoonz (go read her story Different Paths!) I'm uploading this. I've actually been writing it and rewriting it on and off for the past few years-this is the forth one I think. I did a depressing amount of research into ToA too because I'm a loser so _please_ tell me if I got anything wrong. No one has looked it over but me, so I apologize for any and all grammatical and spelling errors; writing is _not_ my strong suit and just something I do when I'm struck with inspiration. Because of that, don't expect scheduled updates or something. I'm going into my final year of college (!) so I'd be too busy to keep up with it. I just hope you enjoy it!

About the language Cass is speaking, it _is_ a real language and I'd like to know your input on it. I was kinda iffy about having a whole different language up in there, but I liked the idea overall so I went with it. Everything will be translated within the chapters it appears in, so you don't have to worry about be all "wtf is this nonsense supposed to be?" I take a lot of inspiration from things I watch and read, so try and catch all my references!

Casarmg chis nonci? - Who are you? - Kas-arm-juh Keys Non-see

*katholai: another word for aloe vera. I just thought it would be weird to call it aloe vera so I called it something else.


	2. Amnesia

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

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**Nederim**

Chapter 2 / Amnesia

_"And the moral of the story is that you don't remember what happened. What you remember becomes what happened." – John Green_

* * *

The first week passed by slowly for Cass. Her sunburn eventually went away, but it didn't leave her skin the slightest bit darker. It turned out that her skin was incredibly pale and didn't hold color very well. The lack of melanin was probably why her sunburn was so horrible in the first place. Imri eventually took the bandage off her head once he declared that her wound wouldn't be opening any more (apparently without doctor's consent). She didn't mind. The bandage was uncomfortable and she was happy to be rid of it.

At first Imri left Cass to herself, let her stare out of the window for as long as she wanted, but eventually he began to talk more. He didn't ask her much, and Cass didn't have much to say. She did ask him about how she got here, and he was happy to tell the story and didn't mind when she interrupted to ask a question about something. There was a conflict in Northern Chesedonia between Kimlasca and the Malkuth Empire, he said, and that ended up in a rather devastating battle for both sides of the battlefield. Someone, Cass couldn't remember the name Imri gave her, who led the Malkuth military in the attack, made use of some sort of fonic arte that virtually wiped out General Cecille's troops. There were a lot of casualties, which was why it was taking so long for someone to come see Cass and make sure she was fine. Luckily the Order of Lorelei intervened before Malkuth could do more damage.

It was after that battle, when most of the major injuries were taken care of, that the Kimlascan army began to pull out. They had to leave rather quickly—the amount of Seventh Fonists and doctors they had with them weren't enough to handle the damage that was done—and it was during the journey back to Baticul, where she currently was, that Princess Natalia noticed her lying face down in the sand.

"I was actually controlling the carriage she was in, but I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to notice you or I thought you were dead," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "But Her Highness, she practically jumped out without even letting me stop or slow down. General Cecille ran out after her, trying to be all polite about the princess running off but I could tell she was completely _done_ and really wanted to get back here to make sure everyone would be all right. Anyway, I stayed back at the carriage, so I don't exactly know what happened when they were checking you out, but eventually the general came back to the carriage, dropped you off in one of the carriages that was carrying the wounded, and we were off to Baticul again."

Imri shrugged. "That's basically it," he finished. "Once we came back here she ordered me to keep watch on your room since I can't use the Seventh Fonons and my bandaging skills are pretty shoddy, but you know that from experience, huh?" He flashed her a cheeky grin and winked.

Cass didn't have anything to compare his injury-wrapping experience to, at least, nothing that she could remember, so she just gave a short nod to agree with him. It bothered her that Natalia would run out to help her. According to Imri, Northern Chesedonia wasn't a safe place to be wandering around at the time—she was still in the middle of the warzone despite the interference of the Order of Lorelei. Cass didn't even know if she was a citizen of Kimlasca. Why would she help her?

"What's with that face?" Imri asked her suddenly. She looked back at him, confused. "You looked confused, well, more than usual. What's bothering you?"

Cass looked back down at her hands, clasped in her lap above the white sheets. She left the bed occasionally, but stayed in it most of the time at Imri's request. She wanted to go outside. "Oh… well… Natalia…" she was having trouble finding the right words for her question. "Why would she… assist me?"

He leaned back in his chair, ran a gloved hand through his blue hair and smiled softly. He left the hand in his bangs as he spoke. "Well, Princess Natalia, she's really something." His tone changed, and Cass didn't really understand it. It sounded… softer? Why was he speaking like that? Was he having trouble putting his sentences together like she did? "She would have tried to help you if you were wearing a Malkuth blue uniform; that's just the kind of person she is. She cares about her citizen's deeply, helps out all those that are stuck in a rut, you know?"

Cass didn't know. She was in the desert, not a hole, and couldn't imagine there were a lot of them in the city. She didn't have time to tell him she didn't understand because he continued. "Her Highness just can't stand to see people hurt. She was over in Chesedonia to cheer us all up, keep our spirits up because war _sucks._ She wants everyone to be happy and safe, including people from Malkuth and amnesiacs like you."

Natalia did seem genuinely concerned for her health in the very short visit she had had when Cass first woke up. Since then, as far as Cass was aware, the princess had yet to stop by again. According to Imri, the doctors were still incredibly busy making sure all of the soldiers that returned would recover hastily. If she helped raise morale on the battlefield, she would likely be making sure that the wounded were surrounded with a positive outlook on their future.

Thinking about this made Cass realize that she never thanked Natalia for her concern or, for that matter, saving her life. It was as Imri said, if the princess did not see her, she would have died. Natalia saved her life when she had no obligation to, especially with the amount of wounded that needed to be brought to a proper medical facility.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Cass's head shot up. Imri wasn't as surprised by the sound and said, "Looks like Sam finally got the memo, huh?" Cass didn't know who he was talking about and looked away from the door, frowning at Imri. He wasn't looking at her anymore and said, louder than before, "Come on in, Sammy, it's open."

The door opened and two people came in, the taller wasted no time reprimanding Imri. "How many times have I told you not to call me that? It's not even shorter than my real name." He sounded irritated, and the tone of his voice matched the expression he wore on his face. Imri just laughed and stood up from the chair without a word, went back to the wall and leaned against it as Sam went to the foot of the bed, took up the clipboard there, before replacing Imri in the chair.

Cass looked him over as he stared at the clipboard. He looked tired; there were obvious bags under his eyes even his with dark skin. His eyes were brown as well, rapidly moving back and forth as he read, but his hair was white. The other was a petite woman in red that stood nearby, but didn't get too close. The man glanced up at her, furrowed his eyebrows, and looked back down at whatever he was reading. "Cassandra Brightwing? I'm Doctor Sam Couch."

Cass just nodded. She didn't think the doctor would be able to see her—Imri made it seem like there was still so much to attend to, even though a week had passed. "I'm sorry that it took such a long time for someone to tend to you—it's been rather hectic."

She nodded again. "Yes… Imri informed me."

Doctor Couch frowned and turned around to the aforementioned man. "Speaking of him, you can go ahead and leave, Carnelian. You aren't Miss Brightwing's guardian and therefore shouldn't be here."

Imri inhaled sharply and winced. "Ooh, harsh. I'm under orders from Her Majesty, Princess Natalia, to keep an eye on her."

The doctor glared. "Then keep watch _out of the room_. It's against policy to have you in here while we talk about her health." He muttered something under his breath, but Cass wasn't able to make out any words.

She looked back and forth between the two men. They didn't seem to get along, but Imri was smiling from his position against the wall while Doctor Couch's glare became even more heated. Tension was rising, and she felt like it might choke her soon. "Imri," she started, "please listen… to Doctor Couch."

The blue haired man frowned, but got up regardless. "Shout if you need something, all right?" he said before closing the door behind his back.

Sam let out a relieved sounded sigh. "Okay, Miss Brightwing, we're going to look you over for any physical ailments before discussing your mental health. Will that be all right with you?" Cass nodded, and Sam began his work. He made an offhand comment about her sunburn and how it seemed to have healed nicely, and she wondered how he knew she had one in the first place since no one aside from Imri and Natalia had seen her since she lost her memory. He looked over the cut on her head, told her he would try to heal it with Seventh Fonons before there was a bright green light in her vision, almost making her lean away from his hand.

When he finished he was frowning and Cass didn't feel any different. The rest of the checkup went by quickly, and in the end he deemed her healthy—albeit a bit underweight—and gave her permission to walk around for a little bit each day, as long as she had an escort. A flood of warmth spread through her at that news; the view of the window didn't satisfy her desire to see outside. It felt like a lifetime since she had felt the rays of the sun and, in a way, it had been.

Once that was over he began to question her about her amnesia. Apparently the clipboard that was on the bed informed him of her situation. It had been a week, and there had been close to nothing that felt familiar to her. Sam said that perhaps being stuck in the room was hindering her progress at regained her memories, so the walks outside would be incredibly good for her, as she might see something to trigger a memory. Cass told him she remembered seeing silver or white, but couldn't attach the color to anything, not even a particular emotion.

Doctor Couch was already aware that the name Cassandra Brightwing was a placebo, and urged her to start reading, looking for things that would help her. After all, a name would help her more than anything else. She would be able to find out where she was from, why she was in Chesedonia, perhaps her family and where they were.

The appointment ended with him giving her more placeholder personal information.

_Name: Cassandra Brightwing_

_Age: 20-24_

He didn't seem keen on giving her an exact number and she didn't bother questioning it. She decided she was fond of the number 22 (probably because of the double digits and it was in the middle) and mentally deemed that her age until she remembered.

_Date of birth: 14__th__ of Shadow Redecan between the years ND 1991 and ND 1995_

Supposedly the date the Battle of Northern Chesedonia officially ended.

_Location of birth: Chesedonia, Alberria_

Sam made a comment about how Chesedonia was probably the last place Cass was from. She didn't get it.

Once he finished, Sam stood, told Cass to let him know if she remembered any personal details about herself. She asked him how she could inform him, and he said to just send 'that blue haired idiot' to find him.

Doctor Couch and the nurse left and Imri came into the room a moment after, letting out a large sigh once he nearly threw himself into the chair. He said nothing, so Cass decided to speak up. "Hello, Imri."

One corner of the captain's mouth quirked upwards at her greeting. "Great conversation starter there, Cassie. You're learning fast."

"Oh, thank you…" she said. After a second, she bit her lip. "Imri, Doctor Couch said… that I have permission to… go outside. May I?"

Imri nodded. "Yeah, he mentioned that before he left. Wanna go now?"

Cass nodded, enthusiastically removing the white sheets from her body. She had no shoes to wear, and she was wearing a plain white shirt and some white trousers that she figured she was put in once she arrived here, but that didn't bother her. The window only granted a small sliver of blue sky, but underneath that tiny patch of blue was a larger one that she couldn't wait to see. She didn't realize she had been so close to the water; seeing it from afar gave her a feeling of excitement. She didn't know if it was from past experiences or because she had never seen it before she suffered from amnesia.

The blonde had some trouble walking through the halls of the building, but Imri helped her out whenever she stumbled into something. The halls were decorated with greens and reds and golds, so much different than the stark white room she had been confined to for the last week. After a few minutes of traversing the labyrinthine hallways (with ease thanks to Imri's guidance), the paired finally arrived at a door, and the captain pushed it open, held it for Cass to walk through first.

The rays from the sun immediately warmed her skin, and she inhaled deeply. The air felt weird, in a way that she couldn't quite place. Stepping farther out into the sunlight, Cass looked around. Her bare feet stood on paved ground, the cobbles warming her from absorbing the sun's heat all day long. It was all brown and sort of plain, but there was a beautiful fountain surrounded by some plants that were neatly organized. For some reason that struck her as odd, and no matter how long she stared at the flowers she couldn't figure out exactly _why_ it was odd.

Imri told her to stay on this level, saying that going to a lower tier without shoes wouldn't be safe, and she didn't really know what he meant by tiers, but she heeded his words regardless. The captain didn't talk, and he seemed to be fine with just standing outside like she was. He must have been getting as tired of the white wall as she was.

Cass frowned. Perhaps she should let him have time to himself. Imri was really the only person she knew, but he must know so many other people. And if he was watching her all day, he wouldn't be able to see any friends or family. He had been so kind—she should stop making him keep her company all day long. Another soldier could watch her.

There wasn't much to see on the tier of Baticul that she was confined to. There was little greenry, almost everything was paved and buildings surrounded half of the tier. There was the hospital that she was currently staying at, some sort of military building next to it, and a few other buildings that did not distinguish themselves from one another. She couldn't even see the ocean, buildings blocked everything, and the view leading further into the city was just that. A view of the city.

Baticul was nearly all browns and grays, and not necessarily the earthy types. It was all incredibly industrial, with smatterings of other colors from banners and clothing and shops here and there. On the horizon she could make out a line of trees, but it was so far away and so much lower than where she currently was. There was a haze of light brown that tinted the skyline and she frowned at the sight. It should be blue.

Cass didn't spend too much time outside before Imri suggested they go back. Once they entered her room again, he asked her if she felt any better now that she was able to stretch her legs. Cass just nodded and went back to looking out of the window, trying to catch sight of the ocean.

"You don't look like you feel any better," Imri observed from his usual spot.

"I do," she told him, turning around to face him. "My legs… do not feel as stiff."

Imri shook his head. "Not what I meant. You wouldn't be staring outside of the window like an indoor cat if you felt better."

"I thought… that I would be able… to see the ocean… Or trees…"

He frowned. "Sorry to tell you, but that window is probably gonna be your best view of the ocean in Baticul. Unless you go to the port, but all of the ships would probably ruin that view for you, huh?" Imri paused. "But hey, if you're not happy with a city view, that kind of narrows down the places that you're from."

Cass's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Imri grinned at her expression and explained. "There's tons of smaller cities all over. I'll be right back; lemme get an atlas." The captain left the room and, figuring they were going to be talking about something for a while, Cass made her way back to the bed and sat on the sheets. He returned a few minutes later with a book and flipped through it until he came to a map of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear.

The next few hours were spent with Imri telling her about various places around the planet. He focused mainly on the larger cities—the ones that warranted a name on the map that showed the most land. None of the names stuck out to her. Some sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough that she thought she had ever had any memories associated with any of the locations. Eventually the sun set and Imri had to leave. They bid each other goodbye, and Cass went to sleep soon afterwards.

She dreamed of silver and white again.

* * *

It wasn't often that Imri would walk through the markets of Baticul and see something that would catch his eye. It was even less likely that whatever caught his eye would be an object and not some pretty girl. So when he walked past the florist shop, all the bright and beautiful plants on display in the window, he decided to walk on in.

Cass was incredibly disappointed at how… he guessed boring Baticul seemed. Personally he liked that big city feel, but he got that it wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Apparently she had a thing for nature and the ocean, but bringing her to the ocean would be a bit impossible at this point in time. She had no shoes, the port was almost always busy, and he doubted General Cecille would approve of her being so far away from the military's watch. Some plant, though, that would be easy enough to bring into her room. It'd definitely be a nice change to all that horrible white she was surrounded with.

He decided against flowers, instead choosing some sort of leafy thing with small yellow bulbs that smelled fairly sweet and earthy and was in its own pot so it wouldn't die in a day. He brought it up to the cashier, talked with her a bit, and managed to get a nice discount (because he was in the military, she said. Yeah, right).

After a smile and a wink to the cashier, Imri left the shop and headed back to the hospital. Cass was already awake and, big surprise here, she was staring out of the window. "Hey, Cassie," he announced, shoving the door closed with his hip. "Thought you needed some color in your life, so I got this for you."

The blonde turned away from the window with that perpetually confused expression plastered on her face. Her mouth opened, like she was about to say something, but then her eyes drifted to the plant and she inhaled sharply, jumping out of the bed and nearly falling over in the process.

Imri placed the plant down quickly, immediately holding out his hands to try and keep Cass from falling all over the place. "Whoa, hey, everything all right?!"

Her gray eyes were wide and she completely ignored him, nearly shoved him away. "Oe-crimi!" she cried, stumbling over to the plant and touching it gingerly. Her expression was absolutely focused as she stared at it, and Imri could do nothing expect wonder why the hell she was getting so worked up over an ordinary plant. He looked at it again. There wasn't anything remarkable about it, as far as he could tell. He might not be a botanist, but the leaves looked the same as all the other trees in the area and the small bulbs seemed normal. It was spring, and most other plants were beginning to flower.

He stood in silence, completely confused as to what he was supposed to do. Cass didn't seem to be bothered, so that was a good sign, at least. Just in case she began to fall or something, he went to stand a little closer to her. Imri began to get a little worried after five minutes of her scrutinizing the plant intensely.

Cass inhaled deeply. "Cinnamomum…"

Imri blinked, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"This…" she mumbled, voice shaking slightly, not even bothering to look at him while she talked. He was taken aback again. She _always_ looked at whoever she was speaking to. "Imri, I… My name is Cassia…"

Holy hell.

He _never_ would have thought that such a simple, unassuming plant would be able to trigger her into remembering her name. Of all the things that were in the store… who would have thought it would be something so ordinary? This was great! Maybe he'd take that cashier out as thanks. But, at the moment, there were more important things to attend to. "Stay put. I'm going to see if I can get Princess Natalia here anytime soon." Without waiting for a response, Imri left the room again.

It didn't take long for him to learn that the princess was over at her fiancé's manor, and he was allowed entrance without any fuss. Standing in the waiting room, one of the maids went off to go fetch Her Highness for him. She showed up shortly after. "Captain Carnelian, is something the matter?" she asked, worried.

Imri saluted. "Your Majesty, I thought you'd want to know that Miss Brightwing regained… quite an important piece of her memory."

Princess Natalia's hand flew to her mouth to cover a gasp. Green eyes widened in shock. She turned to the maid that went to find her the first time, said, "Inform Luke that I had to leave unexpectedly, but to keep trying," before turning to Imri again. "Lead the way, Captain."

He did as he was told, brought Princess Natalia to Cass's room. The blonde was back in the bed, but it looked like she moved the plant over to the table by the side of the bed. "Hello, Natalia," she greeted softly, looking happier than Imri had ever seen her (though her smile could hardly be called that, the corners of her mouth were lifted maybe half a centimeter upwards).

"Hello," Natalia replied, a smile on her face that was obviously a smile. "Captain Carnelian informed me that you remembered something and I hurried over."

Cass nodded. "Yes… my name… I am Cassia."

The princess's head tilted to the side slightly. "Cassia. That's a lovely name. How did you remember?"

Slowly, Cass went and picked up the plant, held it in her lap. "Imri gave me this… It was… around home… I think…"

Her Highness held out her hands, asked if she could hold the plant and Cass handed it over, folded her hands back in her lap. The blonde looked it over and apparently felt the same way about it as Imri did. Her smile fell the smallest it, and she looked a little confused, like she didn't understand how something so normal could trigger a memory. She handed it back and Cass put it back on the table.

"Cassia, would you allow me to help you regain your memory?" she asked after a moment of silence. "My fiancé is suffering from memory loss as well; I'm hoping you two could assist one another."

"Oh…" Cass started, lips turned downwards slightly. "I do not… wish… to be a burden…"

"It is my duty to help my people," Her Highness announced, "and I consider you a citizen of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear now."

Cass looked down at her hands, sort of demure, before she mumbled that she would be honored to have the princess's assistance. Princess Natalia's grin grew. "You'll be an honored guest at the castle, then," she decided. "Captain Carnelian, you are relieved of the task of watching over Cassia. Thank you for your assistance, but I'm sure Generals Cecille and Goldberg could use your aid still."

They definitely could. While the hospital wasn't panicking as much as it was a week ago, there was still so much to deal with now that the Battle of Northern Chesedonia was over with. And that meant paperwork. Imri groaned inwardly. He'd rather babysit. Without announcing his grievances, Imri saluted with a simple, "Understood, Your Highness." He turned towards Cass. "See ya around, Cassie."

She nodded. "Gah c nonci, Imri."

He didn't understand what she said, but nodded and grinned nonetheless. The meaning of it wasn't lost to him. It was nice to hear her not stumbling through a sentence, even if it sounded like nonsense to him. And he didn't know it then, but Imri wouldn't be seeing her around.

* * *

Woo, she remembered her name~! Good job, now hopefully you'll remember something else soon. I believe in you~ And here you get a bit more information about Cassie and a smidge for Imri, mostly just his personality though. Speaking of, the plant he gave her is a legit plant. Called it by its Latin science-y name. A lot of things about her past should be a bit obvious now (or _are they?_) but I think hearing any theories would be pretty cool

Ya'll that're probably sick of OCs and Natalia, don't worry. New, canon people will show up next time (hopefully in character!).

Oe-crimi! - lit. sing praises, used as a sort of 'oh, my God!' equivalent - Oh-ey Krim-ee  
Gah c nonci - Glory to you - Gah See Non-see


	3. Reflection

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 3 / Reflection

_"Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: 'What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…'" – C. S. Lewis_

* * *

Natalia sat calmly at the long table with her aunt and uncle, like she had done so many times before. It wasn't often that she discussed Luke's amnesia with them, the topic greatly upset Auntie Suzanne, but the princess thought that this would be a more optimistic approach. She was sure that both of them had nearly given up hope that their son would ever get his memories back.

"He's been exposed to everything in the manor for seven years now, Natalia," her aunt said. "Surely that would have triggered _something_."

The princess was trying to convince them to let Luke out of the manor, if even for an hour. As a child he would wander a little, not too far into Baticul, but perhaps being exposed to something that the manor couldn't offer him would help. "I know, Auntie," she replied, softening her tone. "It has helped Cassia. She would not have remembered her name if she did not see a specific type of plant."

"This Cassia, her amnesia doesn't seem to be related to Luke's at all. From what you've told us, she remembered how to speak on her own. How would triggers that work for her work for our son?" her uncle cut in, and Natalia unconsciously tried to straighten her already perfect posture. "Malkuth fonon technology tends to backfire on itself—that is what happened at Hod. I imagine that's what happened here. The outcome simply wasn't the same as Luke's and so triggers for her won't work."

After Natalia spoke to her aunt and uncle about Cassia's situation, Uncle Crimson seemed rather convinced that this was Malkuth's fault. She didn't dispute it; after all, it seemed that Malkuth did indeed have the technology to cause amnesia. As for the collapse of Hod, both she and her uncle thought that whatever weapon they were using to retaliate against Kimlasca's occupation of the island backfired, resulting in its destruction. The Malkuth Empire didn't have the resources of Sheridan and Belkend for their fonon technology, so it wasn't really a surprise that this happened (as awful as it was).

"Please, just consider it, Uncle," Natalia replied. "Perhaps a short visit to the port, or just a trip to the castle. We have not tried to expose Luke to anything outside of Fabre Manor. It may work."

Auntie Suzanne looked over at her husband, a look of concern on her face. She looked so tired, so upset, and Natalia almost regretted bringing this up again. She knew this subject wasn't good for her aunt's health, but Natalia couldn't just let this go when it could help her fiancé. She was willing to try almost anything for him to regain his memory of their promise, his family, _anything._

In the end, the decision fell to her uncle, and he wasn't willing to risk Luke getting kidnapped again. It was hard enough to find him in the manor occasionally, it would be close to impossible to find him if he decided he didn't want to be found. Natalia understood his reasoning, but she wouldn't let this conversation end without something good coming out of it.

"Then, perhaps you would consider letting Cassia join in Luke's studies?" she asked, almost pleading at this point. "It would help her, and I believe having someone that Luke could relate to would help him as well."

"You seem very insistent on helping this girl, Natalia," Uncle Crimson observed. And he was right. Natalia wanted to help her however she could. "You don't know if she's a Malkuth spy or not. You would put Luke at risk like this?"

"I don't believe she is a threat, Uncle. I've considered this," she explained, remembering the captain's similar feelings on the matter. "When I am not there, I've had a soldier watch after her. She has made no attempt at communication with anyone. Her fon slots are sealed as well, so she would be unable to cast artes if she was a fonist." Natalia purposefully left out the piece where Cassia was found with two weapons. She should have told them, but that would just lessen the chances of giving Luke someone that understood what he was going through. "Someone like Cassia could be the type of friend he needs to overcome his trauma."

Suzanne spoke up after a moment of silence. "Dear, please consider. I trust Natalia's judgment."

Crimson sighed slightly. "Let me think this over tonight," he conceded. "I'll let you know when you visit in the morning."

The princess smiled brightly and said, "Thank you so much, Uncle, Auntie, for your consideration."

Natalia left shortly after a less stressful conversation with the pair and a short visit to Luke. She smiled smugly to herself. If her Auntie Suzanne was on her side, then her uncle was sure to comply eventually. His weakness was his wife, and his wife's weakness was her son's happiness.

When Natalia paid a visit to Fabre Manor the following morning, her uncle agreed to have Cassia join Luke's lessons. The expected result—it was rare that the princess did not get her way if she had something to say about it.

* * *

"Where could he be…?" Natalia murmured to herself, eyebrows drawn together in confusion and worry. Cassia didn't know how to reply to the question, so she refrained from speaking. Instead, she just glanced around the courtyard of Fabre Manor.

It was a large, circular area surrounded by flowers in curved planters. Each set was filled with a myriad of different colors that complemented each other nicely, and filled the open area with a lovely mixed of floral scents. She could see a line of trees in the distance, probably still within the grounds of the manor since she could not see anything that would block her from reaching them from where she stood. Maids dressed in brown and red walked around, typically in pairs and usually carrying a bag or box of something.

Today was the day that Natalia deemed Cass well enough to meet her fiancé, Luke. It had been about three months since she arrived in Baticul, and her memory hardly improved after she moved from the hospital to the castle. There was nothing familiar anywhere, and while her name came to her in a dream, nothing else did aside from colors and wordless voices.

Natalia had talked about this to her before, just a few days ago. She thought that Cass and Luke would be able to help one another retrieve their memories. Cassia didn't know how someone without memories could help someone else regain theirs, but the princess seemed to think it would work. Cass hoped it would. She would like to help Luke since he was so important to Natalia.

The princess picked up her pace suddenly, and Cass hurried to catch up to her. She walked up to a blond man and tapped him on his shoulder, a look of impatience on her face.

The blond turned around, but almost instantly jumped backwards with a gasp as he realized who it was. Something crashed to the ground, and Cass directed her attention to the new mess. There were pieces of gray metal objects all over. Neither Natalia nor the blond made a move to collect any of them, so Cass left them alone.

"Y-Your Majesty! Please don't sneak up on me!"

"Guy! You need to get over this silly fear of yours. Honestly, it is just embarrassing," Natalia said disapprovingly. Cass narrowed her eyes. Being startled didn't seem like a fear of something; hadn't she had a similar reaction to waking up in the white room? Perhaps he, Guy apparently was his name, didn't like being touched.

"You know I can't!" He sounded exasperated, similar to how Doctor Couch spoke to Imri.

Natalia shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "Where's Luke?" she demanded, finished with the subject of his fear. "I must introduce him to Cassia. She will be joining him during his lessons."

Guy's bright blue eyes flitted to Cass's gray ones for a moment before he turned to the princess again. "I'm not sure. He just finished up his swordplay lessons, so I'd think he'd be in his room, getting ready for dinner." He looked back to the other girl with a friendly smile. "I'm Guy, by the way, a servant here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Remembering his reaction to Natalia, Cass decided to keep her distance. Clasping her hands in front of her, she bowed just slightly. "I am Cass…ia."

"We looked there already," Natalia began. "You have to help me find him, Guy. You know better than anyone where he might be." There was a subtle change in her voice, but Cass couldn't figure out what it was. That was beginning to bother her—being able to detect all these slight shifts but not being able to figure out their causes.

Guy bowed his head. "Of course, Your Majesty. Just let me…" he reached down to pick up the gray pieces that he dropped.

"Now."

He straightened back up at her command. "Right. Come on."

Cass nearly went to pick up the pieces of metal, but wasn't able to grab any of them before Guy and Natalia were walking away. Guy was incredibly polite, but Cass figured it was from life as a servant and being in the presence of royalty. Imri was like that—he spoke colloquially around her, but if Natalia was around his language would become much more formal. He was just a few inches taller than Cassia's tall five foot eight, and the messiness of his hair rivaled her own.

She followed the two around the manor for a few minutes, and Cass and Guy talked a little. He asked her why she needed to sit in on the lessons—they were pretty basic in his opinion—but Natalia informed him that Cass suffered from amnesia at the hands of the Malkuth Empire.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that," he said, before turning to look at Natalia. "Is it like…" he trailed off.

The princess shook her head. "Thankfully, no," she replied. "I hope that they can assist one another in regaining their memories. Cassia has remembered some things already; I would like to see if certain triggers of hers will work with Luke and vice versa."

"It's worth a try," Guy said, shrugging just slightly, looking over his shoulder to the blonde. "What was it that helped you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I do not mind…" Cass responded. "It was… cinnamomum. It is… a plant…"

He looked confused. "A plant?" he repeated.

Cass nodded, but Natalia was the one to answer for her. "She said it grew around her home. I have not had time to research it, but the gardener here might know of it. He's quite the botanist."

Guy laughed. "Yeah, Pere's interest in nature extends a lot farther than these flowers. I wouldn't put it past him to know about this plant. You should ask him about it if you get the chance, Cassia." Cass nodded again. Hopefully Guy would be able to introduce her to Pere later.

A few minutes later they stopped at a small gathering of trees, right beside the outer walls of the manor. Someone was up in one of the trees, and he jumped down gracefully at Natalia's behest. She introduced Cass to him. "Luke, this is Cassia," she started, motioning to the other girl. Cass bowed her head politely, like she had done with Guy. "She will be joining you during your lessons."

He didn't look happy or upset, but his expression was vaguely hostile. It didn't change at all after his green eyes gave her a once-over. "Why?"

"She is also suffering from amnesia. It is my duty as princess of Kimlasca to help my people," she explained kindly.

Luke looked over at Cass again, eyes slightly narrowed.

"So you just picked some random chick off the street? You don't know where she's been!"

Cassia's eyebrows came together and she frowned. "Natalia knows… where I have been…" she told Luke. The princess probably knew more about where she had been than Cass did herself. She wouldn't dispute the 'random' comment, even though she was found in a desert, but Luke probably didn't know the entire story.

Luke's frown deepened but his face didn't seem as unfriendly.

"Luke! That is no way to talk to your peer," Natalia reprimanded. "Cassia will be joining you for your lessons." Her voice held finality.

The redhead didn't say anything for a moment, but turned away from the three with a huff. "Whatever. As long as she doesn't try to join my lessons with Master Van," he muttered.

Cass never did join on his 'lessons with Master Van,' as she never went to the manor during them. Van only came by once a week and all other scholarly lessons were cancelled on those days so she had no reason to join in or even watch them. Instead, Cass helped Natalia with anything she needed assistance with, with the princess's permission of course. She didn't do much because Natalia wanted her to be relaxed, hoping a calm, unstressed environment would help her with her memories.

It didn't. Nothing really did. Another month passed and she couldn't recall anything about who she was, where she lived, or anyone she knew. A heavy weight fell on her after a month of close to no progress. Cass began to feel like she was disappointing Natalia. The blonde knew she was there mostly to help Luke regain his memories, but her presence had not helped him at all. Cass told the princess this after Natalia had asked why she looked so upset.

"Of course you are helping Luke!" Natalia had assured her. "He is putting so much more effort into his studies now. I believe it is because of you."

And Luke really had been improving, not that Cass had much to compare with. Science, politics, and geography ended up being things Cassia grasped easily. Whether or not it was from past knowledge, she didn't know. She just knew that looking at a map didn't help her with locating the place she was from—it was as if she had never seen one before. Fonology and earth science came to her easily, the former of which Natalia thought was odd because her fon slots were hardly open, as if Cass had never cast an arte in her life. The latter made sense; Cass loved nature and would always want to spend her time outside. Something about it just… agreed with her at a deeper level.

Writing was difficult for her. She couldn't remember the Fonic alphabet. The characters were weird, and she had trouble remembering the phonetics for each one. Her handwriting was atrocious too—the letters taking on sharp angles instead of being smooth and rounded. Like speaking, she preferred the other language, and decided to make a sort of translation guide between the two. As for anything with numbers… Cassia struggled. Even in the science work. She could understand the concepts with ease, but any problems she needed so solve seemed to fly over her head and leave her frowning in thought at her homework.

Surprisingly, math and the like came easily to Luke. She asked him for help once, a few weeks into their lessons, and he helped her with her work. Told her exactly what she was doing wrong and how to fix it (but not without a comment like, 'Jeez, how stupid can you be? This is easy stuff!'). The noble did not do well with fonology or geography, and Cass was glad to help him with the subjects (not that he would admit she was helping him). They helped each other out, and both Guy and Natalia seemed happy about that. Guy was thankful that most of Luke's rude comments went unnoticed by Cass; harsh words didn't seem to affect her too much, if at all, and she took things pretty literally which would cause Luke to drop the barrage of sarcastic remarks he used with others.

When she was waiting for Natalia to stop by the manor after her classes, Cassia would speak with Luke and Guy. She and Guy shared an interest in science, and she was curious about the fon machines he kept talking about. Whenever that came up, though, Luke would always end up changing the subject, saying he wouldn't be able to handle 'that nerd stuff.' Guy would laugh and then oblige, so they didn't talk too much about the topic.

Like he said when they first met, Guy introduced Cassia to Pere, the manor's gardener. He was so smart and kind and his extensive knowledge of plants came in handy when Cass asked him about the one Imri gave her. He said it grew in moderate-high altitudes with a relatively dry climate. Mountain ranges, he had told her. Looking at a map to see where they might grow did not help—aside from central Malkuth, most places had a range of mountains that would probably grow the plant.

After the first six months, shortly after Natalia's seventeenth birthday, the princess offered Cass a position as a maid in the castle. She accepted the position, hoping it would even begin to repay the princess for everything she had done. Cassia was so incredibly grateful for everything Natalia had done for her, and not being able to help with Luke's memory loss made her feel as if she wasn't doing enough to repay her.

Cleaning and helping around the castle was a familiar feeling for Cassia, and at this point she recognized the feeling of déjà vu. Cleaning didn't really help her recall anything about her past. In fact, she had nearly given up on remembering. Her dreams were filled with voices whispering yet not speaking any words and silver and white. There was nothing that stood out during them—she couldn't even distinguish the sex of the voices.

Cassia spent more time at Fabre Manor as a maid. Usually she would deliver messages back and forth between the castle and the manor (usually to Luke, but occasionally she'd speak with the Duke and Duchess Fabre). Her breaks and days off found her outside of the city, finally getting away for the loud sounds and into the cleaner air just outside of Baticul's borders.

It was raining when Cass decided on staying in the company of Guy and Pere on her day off, instead of outside of the city. She met Van Grants that day. He was a few years older than her, intimidating but still rather polite. He was there to instruct Luke in swordfighting. She never saw her friend fight before, never seen anyone fight before as far as she knew, and asked if she could sit to the side and watch. With a warm chuckle, he said it was fine.

Luke was not pleased with the new addition to the audience.

Cassia assured him that she wouldn't ask for any lessons from his teacher, remembering his only request when they first met. He eyed her warily, but eventually decided to ignore her and go through with his lesson. The blonde watched silently, ignored Guy's and Pere's commentary. Watching the two brought about another feeling of déjà vu. Much, much, stronger than any other she had before. Despite that, nothing came to her at the time, completely unlike when she remembered her first name. To say she was disappointed was an understatement.

When she spoke with Natalia later that day she kept that to herself. She didn't want the princess to know that, no matter how she tried, her memories were just out of reach. At nightfall she went back to the room she shared with a younger girl, Amber, and fell into the abyss of sleep.

_"Limlal, why are you just sitting there?"_

_Warmth. Love. Comfort. A plethora of feelings washed over Cassia at the deep voice. He called her a treasure—something she rarely felt like unless she was with him. He made her happy, made her feel loved. Where would she be without him? She didn't know, and she didn't want to live in a world without him as her guide, the light and joy of her life._

_"Daddy!" Cassia immediately got up, stumbling a little bit because her leg had fallen asleep. "I was waiting for you. You promised that you would teach me today, remember?"_

_He chuckled slightly, in that way all fathers do around their children, and a blossom of warmth filled her body again. He was so wonderful, always managing to make time for her despite how busy he was. She knew everything that was put on his shoulders (well, maybe not _everything_). Everything he had to work with would eventually fall to her. "Of course I remember. Why are you not ready, Cassia? Everything should be prepared _before_ their use is necessary. I've taught you this."_

_Of course she knew, but a small mistake like this wasn't enough for him to scold her any more than lightly. As sensitive as she was, she would manage with the tone because it meant he would help her set up. Besides, she had gathered everything they needed, the room just needed to be set up. _

_Cassia bowed slightly to her father and apologized, only half meaning it. It would make him happy if she put to use all those etiquette lessons that had been forced on her. Without another word, she grabbed her weapons, twin blades that matched her father's—the ones that she'd have one day when he decided she was ready for them. It wouldn't be much longer now, she figured. Daddy often praised her for how easily things came to her. She just needed to learn how to fight and steel herself. Today would help with the former and having to talk with _her_ would help with the latter._

_The room was set up quickly and the lessons began. He became unshakable, swift, deadly, calculating, everything she aspired to be. Everything she knew she would have to be. He'd tell her the things she was doing wrong, how to correct her form, and his tone was impersonal and cold and it stung a little bit. But then he'd reach out a large hand to help her up when she fell down, and everything was all right again. The unshakable part might take time to master—dealing with people wasn't easy in such a secluded area—but everything else would likely come to her easily. She was her father's daughter after all. _

* * *

Aaaand chapter three finishes up with a lovely dream sequence. Finally there's some other canon characters besides 'Talia, so I hope that you enjoyed their appearance and hopefully they stayed in character, inc. Luke's parents. I was a little iffy about Luke and his homework-y stuff but based on how he was with Ion I think he would help Cass, too. He'd just be a jerk about it. Buuut other than that, I don't have all that much to say here :x

There's ONE more chapter before we finally move out of my pre-game development of relationships, so just hang in there a little more. I know it's a bunch of filler stuff, I just wanted to take this time help Cass adjust to her new life in Baticul instead of throwing her into a whole new world and then into _another_ whole new world. And this way y'all get a better look into her personality-I feel like you get more of it here than in the previous 2 chapters too.

Limlal - Treasure - Leem-lal


	4. Someday I Suppose

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.  
**Warning: **Imri's language.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 4 / Someday I Suppose

_"Could be I can't remember, could be I choose to not. Let's move along the song and try to find the plot." - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones_

* * *

Imri didn't really know how to feel about General Cecille calling him in. He didn't _think _he messed up on his paperwork or anything, but there's just been so much of it and it all sort of blended together in a blur of paper and ink stains on his hands. He really needed to invest in some new writing utensils—his were terrible.

Or maybe he was going to get reprimanded for something? It had been a while since someone told him not to flirt so much. A wink and sweet word here and there weren't doing any harm—it wasn't like he was on duty or anything. Okay, _occasionally_ he'd hit on a coworker of his, but just in a joking manner and _everyone _knew that by now. He knew better than to let personal and professional lives mix. People really needed to get off his back about that, too. He wasn't stupid.

General Cecille beckoned him inside her office shortly after he knocked, something he wasn't even aware he did. Must have been a force of habit—get called to a superior officer's office, knock, get called in. Imri opened the door and shut it behind him, saluting and being all proper like he was supposed to.

"Captain, have you taught anyone how to fight before?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase.

That certainly wasn't a question he was expecting, and it took him a second to answer her. "No, General. My father taught me, though, and I remember most of the drills." He wanted to ask what made this come up. His fighting style wasn't exactly unique or special. They were just dual blades, plain and simple. He had hand-to-hand experience, too, but everyone in the military did. He knew General Cecille wasn't talking about that.

"Her Highness Princess Natalia requested a tutor," she explained, thankfully reading Imri's mind. "Your combat style was similar to what she was looking for. Is this a task you would be able to take on, Captain?"

Her Majesty? Really? Wanting help with _swords_? She was always pretty focused on her archery and healing, why would she want to branch out now? And why not ask for someone, he didn't know, _better than him_? He was skilled, yeah, but definitely not the best. His grey-haired father could probably still wipe the floor with him! "Uh, yes," he replied. "I believe I'd be able to help." He didn't ask any of the questions he wanted answers to. Hopefully the general would explain because he was really confused about the task.

She dismissed him without going into any more detail, just told him to go to the castle tomorrow at noon, and he almost banged his head against the wall in frustration. Sure, General Cecille might not have had all the information herself, but would it kill someone to be a little less vague? It was annoying as hell, and he really wanted a better idea of what he was getting himself into. Her Highness was dedicated, so teaching her shouldn't be too difficult. But what if he wasn't even instructing her? Luke used swords, maybe Commandant Grants had something to do with the Oracle Knights and Imri was filling in for a bit? That made more sense than Princess Natalia suddenly deciding to pick up some blades and throw her bow to the side.

He decided that was it, and spent the rest of his night ignoring the stack of paperwork, choosing instead to try and remember everything his old man taught him and how he taught.

* * *

Imri was at the castle well before noon. He did _not _ want to keep Princess Natalia waiting and didn't want to risk leaving with just enough time to reach the castle, only to be stuck somewhere by some cruel twist of fate. So here he was, sitting in one of the many waiting rooms, like he had been for the last fifteen minutes. Only five more to go!

He'd already spent the first ten minutes examining everything in the room three times. It wasn't often he was invited to the palace, and he'd never had the chance to actually look at anything so closely before. It was all so lavish and beautiful and expensive looking, he nearly wanted to take something small, like a candle holder or something. Not to sell or anything—being a soldier of his rank paid well enough—but just to have it. White Knights were busy patrolling and Imri didn't want to distract any he might know from their duties, so he didn't bother trying to strike up a conversation with one when they passed by.

He checked over his mental list of everything his father taught him, hoping that _whoever_ he was supposed to be helping wouldn't be a pain in the ass to deal with. Imri tried not to think about whom he was training and stay focused on _what _was being taught. The lack of information he'd been given was annoying, and if he stayed on that train of thought for too long he'd just put himself in a bad mood.

But really, _would it kill anyone to just be forthcoming with important stuff like this?!_

A soldier stopped at the threshold to the waiting room then, thank Lorelei. Imri didn't recognize him, but couldn't be more relieved to be summoned three minutes sooner than he thought. The White Knight led him out and into a training room before leaving, saying Her Highness would be there shortly.

More waiting. He heaved an annoyed sigh and tied back his blue hair so it wouldn't get in his face. At least he was in a new place to look over. The room was pretty bare, some archery targets were against the wall and an array of weapons was on another. The floor was flat and somewhat squishy, so that'd be nice if someone was knocked down. A minute later, right at noon, Princess Natalia walked into the room, followed by another familiar face.

Princess Natalia looked as regal as ever, even a little older since the last time Imri saw her a year or so ago. It took him a second to recognize the blonde that followed her in. It was that chick he watched over after the Battle of Northern Chesedonia! Cass… something. He remembered calling her Cassie.

He hadn't seen her since he'd been relieved of babysitter duty. He recalled that she always looked confused and out of it, and it seemed like she was more aware now. Why was she here, though? Shouldn't she be back home with her family or something? She was remembering things from plants, it couldn't take that long to remember other important stuff from walking around the city.

Cassie visibly brightened when she saw the captain standing there in the middle of the room. It was sort of subtle, but she definitely looked happy to see him. But who wouldn't be, really? Imri gave her a charming smile. "Heeeyy… Cassie! Long time no see! What's up?" He saluted to Her Highness as she approached and greeted her much more formally.

Princess Natalia smiled back at him. "I see you recall your ward, Cassia, Captain," was her reply.

Right. _Cassia._ He'd have thought it would have been easier to dredge up, considering she freaked out when she remembered. Apparently not.

"Hello, Imri," Cassie said from Her Highness's side, that shadow of a smile on her face. "It has been such a long time."

"Yeah, it has, huh? I'd have thought you'd have gone home by now. Did you just decide to stay in Baticul?" If he remembered right, she didn't like the city all that much. Maybe Princess Natalia convinced her to stay for some reason.

Cassie's face fell slightly and the princess answered the question for her. "That is actually why you're here, Captain," she said. "Memories have not… come easily to Cassia this past year. She still has not remembered her past, though a few days ago she watched Luke's swordfighting lesson with Commandant Grants. She recalled something from their practice. We were hoping that if she continued her own lessons that would evoke more memories.

"The fighting style she described seemed most similar to yours, thus your presence here. You would be willing to instruct her, correct?"

Well, yeah, why else would he be here? He didn't say that, instead stuck with a simple, "Of course, Your Majesty." He was just glad that everything was all cleared up now. After his affirmation, Princess Natalia continued talking, saying that someone else would take care of most of his other duties which meant _no paperwork._ That alone made all the frustrating vagueness of this whole thing worth it. She spoke more about the lessons, and Imri didn't pay all that much attention despite the fact that he really shouldn't be ignoring anything Her Highness was saying. He couldn't help it, though, since he was too busy reveling in the lack of mundane work he'd have to do.

Princess Natalia left once she finished and Imri acknowledged that he understood what she wanted, even though he really didn't. It couldn't be that complicated, after all. Instead of jumping right into it and grabbing some practice weapons, he decided to talk with Cassie for a bit. She looked better (healthier!) than he remembered and she probably missed him if her reaction was anything to go by.

And so they sat on the floor of the training room, neither really making effort to begin lessons anytime soon. Like he thought, the blonde had missed his company but had replaced him over time with other maids and servants around the castle and Fabre Manor. Colloquialisms and sarcasm flew over her head still (to his question, "What's been up with you?" she responded, with _utmost sincerity_, "Typically ceilings, but on my days off it is the sky." It took quite a bit of effort to keep his amusement contained). She was no longer pausing every three words, so she had improved in that aspect of conversation at least. Perhaps he should consider easing her into the way normal people talk so she wouldn't respond to everything so seriously. Contractions, too—she spoke nearly as stuffy as nobles did and it was weird since she was clearly not a noble. People would have been looking for her if she was.

After catching up for close to an hour, Imri decided it was about time to get working. Getting to know her again would help he figured, and it was actually sort of nice to talk to her now that it didn't take forever for her to say something. She seemed genuinely interested in how the past year had been for him as well and that was a nice change of pace from most women he talked to. He sent Cassie over to the wall with all the practice weapons, told her to pick out two sets: one for him and one for her to use. He really didn't think she'd call him over for something like that, didn't she know what she wanted?

Turns out she did, she knew exactly what she wanted to use and just needed his help. Cass had picked out two daggers that looked small enough to be throwing knives as well as two short blades that were closer to what he used. Along with the weapons she had two belts and he raised an eyebrow playfully at her. "Didn't think you'd be into that sort of thing, Cassie," he couldn't stop himself from saying.

She tilted her head like a bird at him, that expression of intense confusion from a year ago on her face. "What 'sort of thing?'" she asked. "I just… need assistance putting the daggers on my wrist," she explained. "I do not believe I held the daggers, but I know I had them…"

Imri decided not to tease her and ignored her question. As for the daggers, that must have been something she remembered, like Princess Natalia said. Still, he didn't think they'd stay secure on her wrist for very long. "How about we leave that out for now?" he suggested. "I don't think belts would help all that much, especially with how much movement goes into combat. Just stick with hand-to-hand for now, all right?"

Cass nodded in agreement and headed back into the center of the room. Imri stayed behind, decided to pick up the swords she chose before following her back. "All right! Let's see what you got," he told her. "Come at me with everything you have; don't worry about hurting me, okay?" She nodded again and got into an unusual fighting stance, definitely different than how the military taught. She hesitated for a bit before running at him.

Imri went on the defensive, staying focused to gauge her skill. Cass was incredibly fast, which he didn't really expect but adjusted to well enough. At first her attacks were slow and didn't have any confidence behind them, like she didn't know what she was doing or didn't want to hurt him, but it wasn't long before her confidence grew and began to move differently.

He noted that her expression changed—she became much more focused and intense than she was when they started and her punches and kicks melded together, almost like a dance—she was more fluid in her movements. Her blows became more precise, aiming for certain pressure points and organs so he _knew_ that she had quite a bit of knowledge in combat, whether she remembered or not.

The captain stepped it up a notch, dodging another fist from her and moving to the side, swinging one of his swords towards her side. She twisted away and danced around him lithely, landing a blow to his back before he could fully turn around.

He stumbled a little, mostly because he was knocked off balance. The hit didn't hurt all that much; either she wasn't very strong or wasn't trying. If it was the latter, he'd have to fix that. He decided then to go on the offensive, see how she was at defending herself. He didn't necessarily go easy on her, but didn't treat this like a fight for his life either. Most of the time she'd dodge and then retaliate, but it didn't take long for him to find a weakness and start to exploit it.

On higher slashes, Cass would raise her wrists and try to block to weapon with her wrist or lower forearm, as if she had armor on or had a shield. That was interesting for him, but she'd definitely have trouble moving them for a while. Once her attacks became even weaker and she started to slow down Imri chose to put an end to the fight and knocked her to the ground with relative ease. With a wooden blade pressed against her neck, he smirked down at her for half a second before reaching down, trying not to touch the already-bruising wrist as he helped her stand.

They sparred a little more that day, but eventually his barrage to her wrists took a toll on her and she was beginning to have issues. Imri called it a day, said she did well, and they went their separate ways. Princess Natalia and General Cecille found him later on (more like they asked for him to show up in the general's office) and asked for a verbal report. He gave them his observations, making sure to bring up the fact that she seemed to block with her arm. The princess seemed happy to know that, at least from Imri's point of view, the session seemed to bring something back to Cass, even if it wasn't a full-blown flashback. Then she requested a written report, which Imri begrudgingly wrote up.

For the next two years Cassia and Imri would meet once a week, and Imri would continue instructing her. It seemed to him a lot of her skills were slowly coming back to her, like she was recalling everything she was taught before she lost her memories. Somehow she became faster, and Imri didn't really think that was possible. Physically she wasn't very strong and she stumbled easily, even when he told her to give it her all, but her precision and agility helped balance out her lack of power and resilience.

He was as laid back as ever every single time, and it always seemed like sparring was something he could do in his sleep. He was never tense but still focused enough on the duel to keep Cass on her toes. He never became angry or annoyed when she messed up a technique, and being with such an accepting mentor was exactly what she needed. Imri became something of a role model to her; his style was so similar to the one from her dream and instead of being surrounded by cold, harsh silver at night; she was enveloped with a soothing, cool gray. There was a large feeling of déjà vu each time they met to practice, and it helped her remember more and more about how she must have fought.

Once a month or so they would hang out around Baticul, and during these times Imri would teacher how to talk like most people did and get her to observe people and see how they spoke to one another. She took it as seriously as everything else and ended up eavesdropping on people, listening for changes in tone inflection. It took a while for her to recognize obvious uses of sarcasm, but listening in on other people's conversations helped her answer things like, "What's up?" with something that actually made sense and had nothing to do with ceilings.

Those days she spent with him observing pairs of people talk with each other led her to recognize that teasing tone he often took with her was him flirting (or courting, as she initially said). She had asked if that was what he was doing, courting her, and he laughed it off and said that's how he talked to pretty much anyone. And he wasn't joking about that. Whenever Cass would get ready to leave for the night, Imri would go up and talk to some girl, talk with her in that same teasing manner he used on her. It didn't bother her; she just wished he wouldn't use it on her. She told him so, but he didn't stop so she just decided to deal with it. It was just who he was.

Cass somehow got a promotion as well. How, she had no clue, but her and Amber, another girl that worked at the castle, were no longer just common maids. Natalia named the pair her personal attendants and most of their time was spent with the princess herself and preparing her for the day in the morning and bed at night. The new title led to Cassia spending more time at Fabre Manor, and that time was usually spent in the company of Guy and Pere. Occasionally her curiosity would get the better of her and she would eavesdrop on Luke's conversations with Natalia—she had been doing that so much with Imri as of late it was sort of like second nature to listen in on people. Usually they would consist of her badgering him to remember certain things they did together in the past, and he never did. She'd leave upset, say something about his proposal, and leave with Cass on her heels. But no matter how often Natalia seemed annoyed at Luke, she always tried to speak to him with that soft kindness she used with almost everyone else.

Any dreams she had were few and far in between. A girl she recognized as a younger self was always present, as well as one to three others that were shaded from view, as if she couldn't recall what they looked like. Every dream she had that evoked a sense of nostalgia she began to write down, hoping that eventually her past would piece itself together. She wasn't necessarily trying to get her past back anymore. She was happy where she was and without memories, though if an opportunity presented itself to get rid of her amnesia she wouldn't just throw it away. If it never did, though, she would be fine. Cass had friends, and the sort of repetitious schedule she made for herself fit her well.

Then, the last two years of monotony ended.

* * *

Here we go-finally out of the pre-ToA story and into the game. Once more, I apologize if this seemed a little dragged out, but my OCs didn't seem to want to hurry along as much as I tried. They kept on thinking of stuff they wanted to do and who am I to say no?

Not sure if Imri's language required a warning, considering this is rated T, but eh. He's a bit more vulgar than the game.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the '70s, because I couldn't resist the opportunity to throw in song lyrics and titles from Boston and Journey.


	5. Disappearing

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 5 / Disappearing

_"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead_

* * *

Remday, Rem-Decan 23, ND 2018.

The beginning of the year was definitely one of the most stressful times to be a maid in the home of the Kimlascan Royal Family. They'd get a break for an hour during the day, something Cassia Brightwing and the other maids were immensely grateful for, but it passed too quickly and didn't really help them out when they were working from sunrise to sunset. It was possibly even worse for Amber and Cass, Princess Natalia's attendants. Not only did both of them have to do their duties as maids around the castle, but they also had to get Natalia prepared for whatever she was doing for the day. For someone that was so thoughtful for the people that lived in her country, it seemed like she forgot that the two older women had other things they had to do. Like sleep and eat. Particularly during this time of the year.

Natalia would be turning nineteen in ten days, and let's just say that everyone in the palace was panicking. There was really no other way to put it. Maids were running around like chicken with their heads cut off, triple checking to make sure they had everything they needed. It gave Cassia a headache since they would always run to her to make sure that everything was going as smoothly as it should be.

How the twenty-something year old even managed to become a huge part of the celebration committee was a complete mystery that left her flummoxed. There were so many other people that had spent years with the princess, while Cassia had only known her for three. She thought of Natalia like a younger sister, that was true, but she just thought that someone had to know more about her than Cass did.

The blonde later found out, in the middle of the panic, that someone else in Baticul did in fact know more about the princess than she did: His Highness. Before she had ended up in the Capital of Light, Cass must have learned how to interact with those of a higher class than she was, as Natalia often noted how her 'decorum was astounding for someone that did not have a high social standing.' Still, the hit on the head she received three years ago did not hinder her ability to act with grace and propriety, which helped immensely with dealing with His Highness. He had insisted on collaborating, and Cassia was simply there to fulfil her duties: make sure that Natalia's celebration went better than perfect.

Most of the preparations were already finished, thankfully. The next few days would be slow now that all the supplies were bought and organized. The three days before her birthday, however, those would tedious.

Cassia doubted she'd get any sleep, but she didn't mind because it was for Natalia.

Today would be simple enough at the least. Cass would head over to Duke Fabre's manor around noon and talk with Susanne about how she'd want everything set up. Lady Fabre had insisted that Natalia's party was held at the manor so Luke would be able to be there, and Cassia was fine with that. She enjoyed spending time here. It was always fun to spend time talking with Guy and Luke, although she could really only handle the latter in short bursts.

Remdays were the worst day to go to the manor, though, but Cassia would manage like she always did: by avoiding Luke when possible. The redhead was always antsy because Van wouldn't be coming around for another day and he would be trying to finish the homework he procrastinated, but at least that meant he wouldn't be complaining about the party today.

"You're so patient, Cassia," Lady Fabre said after the pair discussed the finishing touches of the decorations. "Princess Natalia is lucky to have such a great friend. Her birthday will definitely be one to remember."

"She has done a lot for me, Lady Fabre," she replied quietly. "I just… want to do whatever I can to repay her."

She nodded knowingly. "If only she found you sooner. Perhaps Natalia and Luke would have grown up to be a little quieter. Oh! Would you be able to fetch Luke? His father wanted to speak with him once he woke up."

"Of course," Cassia bowed politely and, with a nod from Susanne, she left to find Luke.

Cass headed out of this section of the manor to the lone building where Luke's room was. She observed the grounds of the manor, looking over the new flowers that Pere was planting for the big event. It was mostly just purple sopherias—Natalia's favorite—with a few other types of flora thrown in to mix it up. It was as beautiful as always, and Cassia made sure to let Pere know when she passed by him before hopping up the stairs to Luke's room. She knocked loudly. "Luke? It's Cassia. May I come in?"

There was some shuffling around before he said, "Cass? Yeah, it's open."

She opened the door and took a cursory look around. Papers were strewn across his desk and put into haphazard piles in an attempt to be organized. She was right when he would be trying to finish up his homework today. There was a nice breeze from the open window, and Guy sat on the ledge.

"Hello, Guy," Cassia greeted with a small nod. "How are you today?"

"Good," he replied with a smile. "I was just checking if Luke wanted some sword practice."

"I see," she said, walking over to his desk and ignoring his privacy. She skimmed his homework. Geography. "Do you need help with your homework too, Luke?"

He scoffed. "No, why would I? And Master Van's here, so I can't today, Guy."

"Van?" he asked. "But today's not a training day, is it?"

Luke shrugged. "Apparently, something came up."

"Oh, that's right," Cassia started, putting his assignments back on his messy desk. "Your mother said His Grace wanted to speak to you. He's in the drawing room at the moment."

"All right," the noble waved the maid off. "Dismissed."

She shot him a look of disdain, before quickly wiping it off her face. Without a word, Cass turned on her heel and left Luke's room, shutting the door softly behind her. Making her way towards the drawing room, she muttered a few choice words under her breath no one would understand if they heard her. The Duke and Duchess were sitting at the long table, as they said they would, but joining them was Commandant Grants. She spoke quietly, bowing her head in respect to the three, and let them know what Luke said. Dismissed once more, albeit in a much more polite manner, she left the drawing room and stepped back outside into the courtyard. Guy was there talking to Pere, and Cassia sat down on a bench so she wouldn't interrupt their conversation. She didn't feel much like speaking at the moment, anyway. She'd rather sit in the quiet, listen to the little bit of nature that could be heard in the city.

After the meetings with royalty, dozens of workers coming up to her and asking for assistance with something, she was getting a headache. Some peace and quiet was really all she wanted at the moment.

Van stepped out after a few minutes and the blonde greeted the Commandant politely. He was a nice enough guy, she figured, but the two of them had never really talked much—the most Cassia had interacted with him was when Luke was too sick to spar with him. Imri was out and she had asked for a quick match. She didn't really know the age difference between them, but it couldn't be much. Despite that, the amount of combat experience Van had was amazing. She knew well enough that she didn't have much physical strength—her forte lied with her agility, but even with his Oracle Knight uniform he matched her speed (and he was likely going easy on her, too!). He was an easy person to look up to as well, even though Cass was never really comfortable talking to him like she was with Imri.

Guy talked to Van for a minute before Luke stepped out with a huge smile on his face. Guy sat down on the farthest end of the bench, putting as much distance between him and the girl as possible, and the two servants watched the pair get ready to practice. Cass asked him conversationally about any news coming out of Sheridan, to which he went on to talk about some new type of fon machine that was being based on old Dawn Age technology. His gusto put a small smile on her face, feeling like it was familiar but she couldn't place exactly why his enthusiasm was so nostalgic.

Truthfully, Cassia found fon machinery slightly unnerving. She didn't know why—the science of it was interesting and she learned so much from Guy about it. There was just something about it that didn't sit well with her, and not being able to place what made her so uncomfortable around a lot of machinery bothered her.

A sudden clash of wood striking wood brought the two out of their conversation. Eyes drawn to the new field of battle, the pair watched as Luke continued to swing futilely at Van, putting in as much effort and power as he could muster. Van stayed on the defensive, a pleasant smile gracing his features as if he weren't fighting. They went on for a few minutes, before something happened. A woman's voice began to sing in a language that Cass had never heard before. It seemed vaguely familiar, but the sounds didn't string together in a way to form a complete word. This was something completely different, and the affect it had on the people in the manor's courtyard was disturbing.

Maids began to slump to the ground, with the guards following quickly in suit. Cass's eyelids began to droop, so she got off the bench as quickly as possible. Moving around should help her stay awake, even if she couldn't do anything.

A pair of small throwing knives landed in a target dummy, just barely missing Van.

Cassia looked up in time to see a young woman jump down from one of the lower rooftops of the manor. Her long, brown hair fell neatly down her back, barely ruffled as she drew one more blade and began to charge forward.

"I've finally found you, Vandesdelca! Prepare to die!"

Luke broke free from the spell she must have cast, and ran forward to protect his teacher. There was a clash, and then Cass had to shut her eyes and cover her face as a bright light blinded her. A sudden gust of wind nearly knocked her off of her feet, and her ears were ringing and she could hear something that sounded like yelling echoing around, as if it was bouncing off the walls of the manor.

The gust died down and Cass's ears were still ringing, but she tentatively lowered her arms and opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust. Van was there, just where he had been before the intruder showed up. But… where was Luke? "…What in the world was that?" Cassia muttered to herself. She didn't get a reply.

"Get a seventh fonist here, quickly!" Van commanded. "Guy, go inform the Duke and the Lady what happened."

Guy nodded and went into the manor to find Luke's parents. Cassia ran to the castle to let Natalia know what just happened. She found the younger girl quickly: on the archery range just like the schedule she had read earlier had said.

"Natalia!" she gasped, taking a second to catch her breath. Natalia's attention broke, and she hurriedly went over to her attendant's side, knowing that something had to be wrong if she was back from the manor sooner than she needed to be.

"What is it, Cassia?" Natalia asked, scanning her over on instinct to see if she was hurt in any way. "Did something happen?"

Cass nodded, straightened up the moment she was able to. "Fabre manor was attacked."

A hand flew to the princess's mouth in shock. "Is everyone okay?! Was Luke hurt?"

Eyebrows furrowed in frustration, Cass didn't really know how to answer that question. Was he hurt? She didn't know what just happened to him. "I'm… not sure. He vanished with the intruder. Van seemed to be under the impression that it had to do with the Seventh Fonon…"

Natalia pursed her lips in consternation. "It must have been a hyperresonance," she concluded. "Luke could be anywhere…" The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Cassia waiting patiently for the princess to decide what to do. "Do you feel well equipped to search for him, Cassia?"

The question was not expected, and Cassia's eyebrows came closer together as a response. "I suppose. I don't know where he is, though…"

"I imagine the Commandant is locating him as we speak," Natalia said. "Return to Fabre manor. Under my orders, you will be joining the search for Luke as my eyes and ears. I'm unable to leave Baticul on such short notice."

Cassia nodded, bowed deeply to Natalia before quickly making her way back to the manor. The drawing room was unlike she had ever seen it before: it was normally so quiet, empty, only occasionally would any of the Fabre's use it. Now, it seemed like everyone was in a mild state of panic. Susanne was crying, wide-eyed from the shock of Luke disappearing, and the Duke was trying to keep her calm as well as discuss with Van and Guy what was going on. Another person Cass didn't recognize was there; he must have been the seventh fonist that was found. Taking a spot close to Guy (but not _too_ close), Cass waiting for there to be a lull in the conversation to announce the princess's orders.

In the end, Van and the seventh fonist determined where Luke had been spirited away to: Malkuth territory. He, Guy, and Cassia would leave by ferry to Chesedonia. From there, they'd split up to cover as much ground as possible. Guy and Cass would head east, over Rotelro Bridge, while Van would catch another ship to the southern tip of the continent. They were going to leave at sunset. With that meeting adjourned, the attendant headed back to the castle to let Natalia know everything. She helped Cass prepare for the trip, giving her some clothing that would be a lot better to travel in than a Kimlascan maid outfit, as well as two new daggers to replace her old, heavy ones.

"I hope that this will help you," Natalia said, handing over a bundle of neatly folded, purple cloth. Cass tilted her head slightly and frowned. That seemed like something to be said about the weapons sitting off to the side, not clothing. "It is what you were wearing, in Chesedonia. I had it repaired," she clarified.

Taking the folded clothes first and unfolding them to see them completely, Cass couldn't help the small smile that appeared as she took in the material. The clothes were two main parts: a dark purple, sleeveless dress and a shorter, gray one. The dark purple dress went down a little past her knees, and was trimmed in a light purple around the hem. It opened at the waist down the front in order to move around in it easier. The whole design over the dark purple dress looked vaguely ceremonial to her at the time. It was all patched up now; hardly looked like it was close to shreds in the first place, but if she looked close enough she could see that there were still tiny specks of red in the lighter parts of the outfit.

The bottom dress ended mid-thigh, and had long sleeves to make up for the dark purple dress' lack thereof, though they began mid-bicep. At the bottom of the sleeve and the top was a dark border, but a majority of the cloth was gray, flaring out the closer it got to her hands. The footwear was new. It was a pair of dark gray boots that nearly went to her knees before folding back down slightly with an off-white border on the top. They were surprisingly comfortable, for not being broken in.

A flood of déjà vu helped Cassia recognize the daggers as well, though they were clearly in much better shape than they were when Natalia found the blonde in the desert. She was told they were broken, but now they worked again and had been brought back to the shimmering silver gleam they must have once had. They acted as bracers, protecting her wrists and allowing Cass to block with them to avoid getting hurt, and they blades were hidden inside a compartment of the bracer until she activated them. There was a string that acted as a lever, the end formed a loop big enough to fit around her middle finger, so all she would have to do to use them was move her wrist and the blade would jump out.

The set-up of the weapons really helped explain all those bruises she ended up getting on her forearms and wrists in those training sessions. Her wrists were feeling sore just thinking about all the times Imri exploited that habit of hers.

The blades themselves were light and thin. When out, they were about 15 cm long, so she would have to hold her palm perpendicular to her arm to hit anything with them. Both blades had a gray filigree on them, making them even more beautiful.

Cass thanked her for everything and gave her a hug, letting her know that she'd let her know everything that would happen while she was away. The princess didn't pester the older girl too much about keeping her word, and she headed to the port shortly after to meet with Guy and Van.

* * *

Here we go, into the plot of the game (finally). I feel I may have went a tad overboard in describing Cass's stuff, but I tried to see everything as Cass would, so you know. There's a picture of her clothes on my profile, if you really wanna see it instead of imagine it. The weapons are inspired by katar daggers (Google 'em; they look pretty awesome), but a bit more technical because I'd think it'd be difficult to do anything if she had to hold them the entire time. Cass's fighting style is inspired by these daggers too.

I apologize for taking a while to post this, but I don't have easy access to the Internet for the next two weeks, and can basically only get online when I'm on campus. School just started as well, so I think a lot of stuff will be sort of slow going for a while.

Last thing, I want to thank all of you that take the time to read, favorite, and/or follow this story. I finally realize why everyone gets so happy in their AN's about people reading their work and taking an interest in it. It _really_ brightens my day that people are actually enjoying this. So, before this AN becomes the length of this (terribly short) chapter, I bid you adieu. Have a wonderful day!


	6. Serendipity

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 6 / Serendipity

_"But I'm tougher, I am stronger and I'm hard to crack. It's a message, it's my destiny to come back." - Amaranthe_

* * *

At sundown, Guy, Van and Cassia disembarked for the city of Chesedonia. Guy didn't bother telling Natalia that he was leaving, but luckily the princess had her attendant to rely on. The ferry would arrive in the city's port around sunrise, but despite it being so early in the morning, Van was confident that they would be able to find a coach to St. Binah in the trading center. After all, the metropolis was in the middle of the desert—people needed to get whatever they needed done as early as possible before the sun became too overbearing.

At least, that's what Cass figured. Since it was such an important city, she thought that Chesedonia would have some sort of fonic technology to ease the intense heat of the desert, or use fonic artes like she heard controlled the aqueducts in the capital of Malkuth: Grand Chokmah. Despite being found on the outskirts of the desert city, she couldn't recall any memories of living there or even visiting.

But without any solid proof to her home, she still decided to call Chesedonia the place of her birth. It was the closest city, after all, even though nothing about her fit with being able to live easily in the desert. The clothes she had on were odd, looked too heavy and made of the wrong material to live comfortably in Chesedonia. The style would have been considered out of place in Baticul, and it clearly didn't fit any other city in Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. Cass only saw pictures of various towns in Malkuth, from Guy's travelling books, but they still didn't seem to fit in there. She was at a loss, but truthfully it didn't bother her much anymore. She decided she would be fine if she didn't remember.

Cassia stayed with Van and Guy on the deck of the ferry until the sun began to set, asked Van about the song the intruder was singing as it seemed to her that he recognized it. He did, explained that it was a special type of fonic hymn that utilized both the First and Seventh Fonon. That type of arte was definitely special, she decided inwardly. Cass never heard of a fonic arte that used the Seventh Fonon in combination with one of the original six.

The blonde wearied of talking to the two as the moon claimed its spot in the navy sky and eventually made her way below deck and into the small quarters she would be sharing with the two men. Those two were much closer to one another than she was to either of them (even though she considered Guy to be a dear friend), and their conversations were so trite with her around that she decided to leave, let them talk about what they truly desired to. She wasn't much for conversation anyway, could barely carry one with most people to save her life.

Cass did a bit of exploring of the ferry after depositing her things in the room to waste some time, as she wasn't very tired. The ship was small, and most of the doors were locked, so she wasn't able to use up as much time as she wanted. Cass thought about rejoining her companions on the deck, but decided against it, figuring that they were tired of mundane conversations in an attempt to keep her involved. It just became sort of awkward for her, and she would have felt bad about not letting them talk about what they wanted to. Instead, she had a small chat with the captain about their time of arrival—how smooth sailing would be—which eventually led back to the same type of exchange that she loathed so much.

She stayed in her room after that, alone, not knowing where Van and Guy were. Staring blankly at the ceiling while lying on the uncomfortable bed, Cassia preoccupied herself with thoughts of the new journey she was on. If she was still interested in exploring Auldrant to discover her place of birth, this would have been wonderful. Now, though, she was just glad to be out of the city. The clean air always cheered her up.

Her thoughts slowly disappeared as she fell asleep.

_"Cassia, _what _do you think you're _doing?!_"_

_It was cold again, in that way that wasn't soothing, as if she had a fever. No, this was different. Harsher. Like a biting wind in subzero temperatures. The wind might not have been howling, but this voice, familiar in a way, definitely was. _

_"I-I am sorry! It is just so close, I thought no one would mind…"_

_"It doesn't matter if it is tomorrow or a few years, you know this. You aren't supposed to be here yet."_

_A wave of guilt and sorrow rushed over Cass's consciousness, and she felt small, much more than she had ever felt before. The voice was no longer callous and angry, but more exasperated than anything else. Like it was disappointed and thought that Cass could do better. She began to feel that way._

_"Come on. Let's get out of here before she comes back. It would be bad enough if your father caught you. You know how she can be."_

_"Yes… thank you…" the reply sounded as small as she felt._

Cass woke up about thirty minutes before the ferry arrived in Chesedonia. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't dreaming anymore—or maybe she was remembering something. Sitting up, she looked over at the weapons Natalia just gave to her, recalling that when she saw them yesterday a sense of déjà vu overcame her. The clothes felt the same way, but nothing new came to her; just a short conversation and some feelings, but no faces or anything.

That wasn't helpful. The conversation didn't even seem like it would go with the weapons or clothes—it sounded like she was just in a room she wasn't supposed to be in.

Glancing around, Cassia noticed that Van and Guy were gone. Not unexpected, and she quickly readied herself to wait on deck with them. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon alone with a sliver of land.

"Finally back home, huh, Cass?"

The words caught her off guard, and as she turned to Guy she didn't quite understand what he meant at first. Cassia put her hand on her neck and turned slightly away from the blond. "I don't… consider Chesedonia to be my home," she admitted. "I was found there, yes, but I doubt I ever lived there."

Guy nodded understandingly and turned back towards the approached land. "Her Majesty said that you looked pretty bad when she found you, and that it took you a couple of months to recover. You really don't remember anything about what happened?"

"I remember being in a lot of pain, and a vaguely metallic smell and the sun. Before that…" Cass shook her head, "nothing at all. It doesn't bother me anymore, however… if I remember, then I remember. If I don't, I think I'll be fine."

He let out a breathy sort of chuckle that made Cass a little confused, until she saw that reminiscent expression on his face. "You're a lot like Luke that way." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but Guy didn't explain. "We won't have a lot of time to explore the city, but if we head back this way let's make sure to see as much of it as we can. Maybe you can get some of your memory back."

Cassia allowed the corners of her mouth to twitch upwards ever so slightly. "Yes, thank you. I would enjoy that."

The ferry arrived in the desert city and they all went their separate ways: Guy and Cass to the Malkuth side of the city—crowded with stand and filled with people trying to sell goods—as Van stay on the Kimlascan side port, waiting for another ferry to take him to Kaitzur.

Hiring a coach took no more than five minutes; Cass let Guy do all the talking and bargaining with the driver of the vehicle. He was paid half up front, and the pair departed from the trade center for St. Binah—a trip that would take the entire day.

Despite Cass's disinclination to everyday conversations, and talking in general, it was always so easy for her to speak with Guy about most things. He had that type of easy-going personality that made it easy for him to choose a conversation that they could both participate in (fonic technology being one of his favorites—she had a thirst for knowledge of science and engineering despite her wariness to the actual products of her fields of interest). Nature and travelling topics came about just as easily as those regarding fontech, and if there was a lull in conversation, it didn't bother either one; it was pleasant while most others became awkward and unbearable (resulting in that type of banter she so loathed). She genuinely enjoyed Guy's company, enjoyed _speaking_ with him, because he was so amiable—a nice change from being around Natalia all the time.

Not that Cassia didn't like being around Natalia—she was wonderful, her savior and dearest friend. Her personality could rub Cass the wrong way from time to time, however, in a way that Guy never did. Not only that, but the differences in status also made it difficult for their relationship to be anything but formal and professional a majority of the time. Since Cassia and Guy were technically the same class, the casual conversations they were allowed to have regardless of location made it much easier for her to speak.

The ground shook suddenly, a little after midday, which interrupted the peaceful silence that fell between Guy and Cass. She gripped at the seat, making sure that she didn't fall. Once the quake passed, she quickly made her way over to the window (affectively forgetting about Guy's phobia, making him back away from the window as quickly as he possibly could). It was some sort of machine, looked like it could have been the size of the Fabre manor, bearing the crest of the Malkuth Empire.

She glanced at Guy, wondered why he seemed more pale than usual, before looking out of the window once more. "What is that?" she asked, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and hesitation. Guy answered her, trying to see outside from around her. When she realized what he was trying to do, she flushed slightly before sitting back down, muttering a quick apology.

"It looks like a Malkuth landship," he replied before sitting back down. "Why's it out here, though?" he raised his voice slightly and turned towards the driver. "I know things between Kimlasca and Malkuth are bad, but are they really anticipating an attack before a declaration of war?"

"It's been getting worse and worse since the end of the Hod War," the driver responded despondently. "We seen 'em occasionally on the plains, out for practice maneuvers. There's been more and more every year, it's worrying and really interferes with business." He sighed and shrugged. "If nothing else, it's good to know that the Empire is preparing for the worst, because I don't think things are going to get better anytime soon."

Cassia didn't know anything about landships, had heard the term once or twice in relation to the Battle of Northern Chesedonia, but had never seen one for herself. Curiosity getting the best of her, she asked Guy what it was used for. The answer didn't thrill her, made her feel more uneasy about fontech than she already did.

The conversation ended on that note.

Unlike the boat trip, the ride to St. Binah didn't seem to take as long. Even though it took up more time, and she was asleep for most of the trip to Chesedonia, being around Guy made the time fly past quickly. Being able to look outside and see the ever changing scenery helped her, calmed her down and made her relax, unlike staring out into the seemingly endless blue of the ocean, feeling uneasy and unwanted around Van and Guy.

They arrived in St. Binah in the middle of the night. The soldiers checked their passports and let them into the city without any hassle. They shared a cheap room at the inn for the night and from then on, the rest of the plan was a complete mystery to Cass.

Guy filled her in over a quick breakfast the next morning. Once they finished up, they'd split up and start asking around if anyone saw Luke. He reminded her to make sure just to describe how he looked and his first name if she needed, _never_ say his full name, as House Fabre was an enemy to Malkuth. That would be easy enough for her to accomplish. Striking up the conversation and asking the question would prove to be more difficult.

She took to the more residential area while he went to the marketplace, and they began their questioning. With his bright red hair and rude personality, Cassia figured that if someone saw him, they would remember. He wasn't someone to just pass through someone's vision and fail to be recalled later, especially if he was talking. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he even stopped in the city because no one could even recall someone walking around dressed as nicely as he would have been.

They met back up at the inn at sundown, Guy just as unsuccessful as she was. They decided to stay another day and ask around tomorrow since many people they asked said there were a lot of shipments coming from Engeve this time of year, and someone from the farming village may have seen him. By midafternoon the next day, Guy found her, filled her in on what a woman from Engeve told him. She was about to leave for St. Binah when she saw a boy that matched his description causing a ruckus in the marketplace. They left immediately, didn't bother trying to find someone to take them to Engeve and instead went by foot, a journey that would be about a day.

Interestingly enough, when they got into view of the small farming town, they encountered another landship-this one looking even larger than the first one they saw-racing to the west, when suddenly it came to a screeching halt. All the outer lights shut off, and Guy wasted no time forgetting his original destination and headed towards the landship.

Cass jogged after him. "Wait, Guy… shouldn't we keep going to Engeve? Why would Luke be on this?"

"Luke was kidnapped by Malkuth seven years ago. Maybe something like that happened again, or someone heard his full name and reported it to the military. Besides, it's stopped, so there's no harm in checking if Luke's on it."

He had a fair point, she conceded, but that didn't keep Cass from warily side-eying the landship. She did _not_ want to get on that. "It doesn't appear operational anymore… how would you go in and ask for Luke?"

"There are ladders on the side meant for repairs," he told her, gesturing to the ladders that indeed snaked their way up the entire side of the vehicle. "We can go up those and see if one of the doors on the deck is working."

"But… why would a door up there work if the entire ship doesn't seem to be working?"

Putting his hands onto the ladder, he went up a rung or two before turning around to Cass, who looked more frightened than anything about the landship, and shot her a comforting grin. "There's probably an emergency hatch in case something like this happens. The commander of the ship will probably make his way down here if that's the case, so you can stay down on the ground if you want to, Cass. Just holler if you see him or Luke."

She did just that, watched him climb his way up the rest of the ladder with ease before disappearing around a ledge to the next one. "I don't know what the commander would look like…" Cassia sighed to herself and did a lap around the huge landship, trying to see if anyone looked like part of the Malkuth military or Luke. She took care to peek around corners as she went, just in case someone was there. If anything, she did not want to appear threatening to someone that was a part of the military.

On the opposite side of the one Guy climbed up, some soldiers were standing around, talking amongst themselves about how to get in. She looked them over, slightly confused. Their armor was decorated in grays and blacks and golds, not something she would expect of the Malkuth military. There was a serious looking blonde woman among them not dressed something that reminded her of Van Grant's uniform, commanding them to stay wary, as well as a green haired boy that was dressed in white. Cass didn't understand, but she was pretty sure that this group of people was _not_ the ones in charge of the landship. Perhaps they were the reason it stopped moving? If they were part of the Order like the woman appeared to be, was the driver of the carriage wrong? Were the landships actually _not_ doing practice maneuvers and instead were heading over to Kimlasca to declare war? Was the Order interferring like they did in Chesedonia, only this time before anything actually happened?

And where was Luke? Cassia still didn't think the noble would be here, but if this landship was going to officially start a war, and they happened upon Luke, then he would certainly be kept somewhere like this as leverage. The blonde and her soldiers might be assisting Kimlasca at this point, but Cass didn't want to risk going up to them by herself. She knew when she was outnumbered and wouldn't be able to do anything if they thought she was a threat.

Cass stayed out of sight, watching as they continued talking for a couple of minutes (and not appearing to listen to the blonde woman's orders) when the hatch on this side of the ship unlocked with a loud clang. A pathway of stairs unfolded underneath the hatch, and the blonde made one of the soldiers walk up the stairs and open the emergency hatch…

Only for him to be lit on fire, tumble down the walkway, and land with a sickening crunch once the door opened.

Cass almost ran to see if the soldier was still living, but the sound of a gun firing made her turn back to the blonde woman, jumping and dodging some kind of weapon that was thrown. It vanished as soon as it impaled the ground, reappearing with the tip pointed threateningly at her throat, in the hands of a man in a military uniform. The blonde threw her weapons to the ground in surrender, and that's when Cass noticed that Luke was actually on this ship, busy smacking one of the guards with something.

Cassia assessed the situation quickly. The blonde and the soldiers in gray were the enemies. Despite obviously being a part of the Malkuth military, Luke was assisting the soldier in blue. She would need to make sure that all of the opposing forces could not retaliate. But first…

Rushing around the corner of the ship, Cass dashed towards the familiar redhead, scanning the landship for any sign of a certain swordsman. "Guy! Luke's he—"

A burst of lightning flew out from inside of the ship, hitting the blonde in the side before she was able to react. Stumbling to the ground in pain, Cass gripped at the grass, fighting back the tears of pain that sprung to her eyes at the sudden attack. The pain subsided the smallest bit, and she hastily got back to her feet, focused on reaching Luke before something happened to him, only for something to land on her back, crushing her back to the earth with its large, clawed paws digging into her shoulders. She tried to get back up to her hands and knees, anything to try and knock what was on her off, but it was futile. It would dig its claws in deeper, the layers she had on doing close to nothing to protect her.

There was some shouting, a clatter, and finally the massive weight got off of her. Cass lay on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily as she listened to the sound of the staircase being folded back up. Someone sat down beside her, and she could feel a light warmth on her shoulder. A kind of relief washed through her body as all the pain from the bolt of electricity and the claws that tore into her arm disappeared.

She turned over quickly now that the pain was gone, trying to find Luke among the group of people standing near where the staircase used to be. Standing up and making her way to the group of people, Cass moved her armed tentatively, gently, making sure that it was all right to move. She must have missed most of the conversation.

"…heard soldiers say that they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right…" said the green-haired boy.

"Then let's head for St. Binah. That's our meeting point with Anise." That was the man in blue.

Without another word, Luke, Guy, the intruder of the manor, and the two other unknown people began to head away from the landship at a quick pace. Cass narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't say anything, only followed after, staying closer to Guy and Luke.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello~! Apologies for the wait, but today is a special day! I'm moving into a new apartment, figured posting an update was a good gift for the occasion. I haven't had access to my computer with this story on it as a result (been couch hopping for a few weeks), but now I do. And! This semester (so far) doesn't seem to have a huge work load; I can finish most everything in between my classes which leaves me with more time to write at home.**

**Once more, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. It's a little filler-y, but we're getting closer and closer the the part which I _absolutely cannot wait for!_ Also, shout out to everyone that favorited/followed this story-your support means so much and really makes me write more. You're the best!**

**Edit 10.9: Thanks RubyMoonz for catching some inconsistencies! It should all be good now. **


	7. Out in the Fields

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

* * *

**Nederim**

Chapter 07 / Out in the Fields

_"__All men are equal till the victory is won. No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun." – Primal Fear_

* * *

Cassia thought it was weird how Guy joined up with Luke without openly wondering who the other three people were (or that blue thing. What in the world was that?) He was able to speak to people he didn't know with such ease, and she would have thought he'd exhibit more caution than he was, especially since the intruder was amongst his new travelling companions. Was he truly that trusting, even in times after being attacked? And how had he reached the ground so quickly, anyway?

She shook her head, didn't bother questioning it, but made sure to stay on her guard around the man in blue and the woman. The green-haired boy didn't seem like too much of a threat, especially since he was already so tired despite the short distance they ran. She stayed firmly in between those two and Luke, trying to form a sort of line of defense just in case. They did help Luke out, so they _were_ the lesser of two evils, and Cass knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she did not want to meet up with the gray-clad soldiers any time soon. The people she was with didn't seem bad at the moment.

Once the Tartarus was out of sight, they decided to slow down their pace to a fast walk. The green-haired boy was breathing heavily, as was Luke, but everyone else seemed fine for the moment. Guy struck up a conversation about Luke's adventure, but the three others that Cass did not know just kind of ignored it. It stayed that way until the boy collapsed about an hour after leaving the Tartarus beyond the horizon.

The girl was the first to rush to his aid, the older man was the first to talk.

"Ion, you used Daathic fonic artes aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" His tone was vaguely accusing, with a hint of concern, but mostly remained apathetic. Cass decided she didn't like it, despite the green-haired boy—Ion—giving him a pained smile as a reply.

"That thing you did back at the cheagles' place?" Luke asked.

Ion apologized, "My body just isn't built to use Daathic fonic artes… A fair bit of time has passed, so I thought I'd recovered, but…" A Daathic fonic arte? Cass's eyes narrowed the slightest bit. She had never heard of that kind of fonic arte.

The man in blue suggested they rest for a while, so the six of them made their way off of the road, Cass and the soldier taking care to hide their tracks into the brush a few minutes away. He made quick use of fonic artes and she was jealous, having never been able to use them. She hid their tracks the old fashion way. Jogging a way back up the path, before the soldier wiped the road clean, she found their footprints and repeatedly walked across the path in different directions, made it a confusing mess of footprints that would be difficult to decipher.

She ran back to the group as fast as she could, staying on the grass, only to see the man in blue just now making his way back. The other girl was speaking with Ion, making sure that he would be okay. Ion assured the girl—Tear, he said—that he just needed a moment and then he would be fine.

"Hey, Luke," Guy started once everyone was seated, "how'd you end up on the Tartarus with the Fon Master?"

Cass tilted her head slightly, questioningly, at the title. She heard it a few times in passing, but didn't exactly know _who_ the Fon Master was. He was the leader of the Order of Lorelei, but was it Ion, or the unnamed man? She thought it over for a moment, decided that it was Ion based on his garb (the symbol of the Order was on his necklace) and the fonic artes he was able to use.

"Luke is going to help prevent a war from breaking out between Kimlasca and Malkuth. I was brought along as a neutral emissary from Daath. Jade is a representative for His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth," Ion answered kindly. "He helped me escape from Daath when Grand Maestro Mohs refused to allow me to leave."

"So you're an emissary on a mission to prevent war," Guy summarized, sounding thoughtful and curious. "But why would Mohs want to start a war anyway?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential to the Order," Luke scoffed at Ion's reply. "I can't talk about it."

"Whatever his reasons," Jade began, "this war must be avoided. We won't let Mohs interfere."

Cassia nodded to herself, taking in the conversation. It was a little shocking that something as simple as finding Luke and bringing him home was turning into something as big as preventing a war, but she was happy to help. She didn't like conflict, which is why she typically held her tongue whenever Luke was being abrasive, and a war would likely destroy part of the planet that she so dearly loved. It would scar the earth, kill soldiers and innocent people caught in the cross-fire, as well as the homes of humans and animals alike. It wouldn't do, she didn't want that to happen, so she would make sure to speak with Natalia once they arrived back in Baticul.

The blonde knew that the princess didn't have the best opinion about Malkuth, but all Cass had seen from the few days she had been here hadn't been bad. On the contrary, despite the fact that she knew it as the empire that erased Luke's memories, the people here had been nothing but pleasant and helpful. The people of St. Binah were just like the Kimlascans in Baticul. Maybe, if Luke stayed along to help, he and Cass would be able to change the princess's opinion on the other country. After all, even though Ion wasn't a part of the Malkuth Empire, Tear and Jade seemed like decent enough people.

Guy shook his head before turning to his friend, "You sure have gotten yourself wrapped up in a mess here, Luke…" He said pleasantly with a sort of teasing grin, and Cassia couldn't help the twitch of the corners of her mouth.

"By the way, who are you two?" Ion asked.

Guy stood up, and Cass followed in suit. "Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Guy, a servant in Duke Fabre's manor."

Cass bowed slightly. "I'm Cass, an attendant for Princess Natalia," she said.

"Is that what she's calling you these days?" she heard Luke scoff. The blonde shot a heated glare at the back of his head, muttering "pashs" under her breath before putting on a pleasant expression and shaking hands with Tear ("Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division") and Ion ("Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei") in turn as they introduced themselves. She took a moment to look at everyone more carefully, since she never had an opportunity to thoroughly look them over.

Tear was very short compared to Cass, but she was probably only a little bit shorter than the average height of a woman. Her hair was long and a dull, mousy brown-gray color that was just a bit longer than Cass's messy, jasmine colored hair. Despite her youthful appearance (looking to be a few years younger than what Cass thought her age was), her bright blue eyes displayed a hidden sort of wisdom, and she was much more mature than Cass expected. Polite and friendly as well, contrasting to what she would have expected from the person that tried to kill Van Grants, her brother.

Fon Master Ion was an image of serenity, befitting of his position among the Order of Lorelei. His robe was white and trimmed with light green, which went perfectly with his forest green eyes and hair. He carried with him a staff that resembled the symbol of the Order, as well as a necklace with the same golden symbol. The staff and necklace were the only embellishments he had, and she didn't know if it was because he was simply travelling lightly, or didn't care for extravagance. Judging by his wide grin and calm demeanor, she figured it was the latter.

Her introduction with Jade was interrupted momentarily by Guy's shriek of horror. She ignored it, completely used to this happening whenever Natalia went to the manor, and Colonel Jade Curtiss, commander of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces didn't seem bothered by it. Didn't spare it much more than a glance as he shook her hand.

Jade was a good bit taller than Cassia was, which was something she wasn't exactly used to. She was taller than Luke, barely shorter than Guy, and she thought he was of average height. His light brown hair was long, going a bit past his shoulders and would have covered one of his bright red eyes if it was mussed even the littlest bit. Those eyes, though. Despite being partially concealed by a pair of simple glasses, there was something about them that unnerved her. Cass didn't think it was the color, unique as it was, but she couldn't quiet determine _why_ they were odd to her in the amount of time that would have been suitable for a simple handshake.

Relinquishing her grip on his gloved hand, Cassia turned towards the commotion. Tear's arm was outstretched, waiting for a handshake, with a look of utter confusion on her face. Guy was a few steps back, arms raised slightly in defense despite the fact that Tear obviously wasn't going to hurt him. She took a step forward, trying again, but Guy, being Guy, was having none of that. She gave up eventually, much to Guy's evident relief.

Once Guy calmed down, Jade decided to continue a normal conversation and asked if the pair came looking for Luke.

"Yes, under orders from Duke Fabre. We knew he'd disappeared into Malkuth territory. Cass and I went by land from Chesedonia, while Dorian General Grants crossed the sea and started searching from Kaitzur."

"Master Van's looking for me too?!" Luke sounded too happy about that, in Cass's opinion. Tear's response to the news wasn't quite filled with as much joy. The fact that the two were at odds seemed strange to her. She would have thought siblings were supposed to be best friends, confidants, an ear to listen. Apparently that wasn't the case for every family.

Some soldiers showed up, and since almost everyone got into a battle-ready position, Cassia did as well, putting her fists up in a defensive stance, ready to activate her hidden blades in a second—the entire situation gave her a sense of déjà vu, but she couldn't keep her fists from shaking with anxiety and her palms from becoming sweaty. She gave a silent thanks to Natalia for fixing up the daggers she had with her instead of lending her something she needed to hold before focusing on the armed soldiers. Would this end the same way as what happened on the Tartarus? A complete slaughter? She didn't want to kill anyone, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Cass knew that she would be able to with ease if she needed to. _That_ realization frightened her.

She spent the fight dodging and countering the strikes of the blade, her bracers taking the hits better than she could have ever imagined. She kept the blades retracted, though. Three of the four soldiers kept the other three busy, but one of them managed to leave the battlefield and try and go after Luke. He was able to defend himself long enough for the others to finish off the remaining soldiers, but once the last one was knocked to the ground, and it was time for Luke to deal the final blow… he froze.

Cass wasn't able to help, could barely spare a panicked glance at the noble before one of the Oracle Knights swung his blade at her once more, and she hardly had time to react to that. A flash of yellow running in Luke's direction eased her mind as she dodged again before delivering a swift kick into the soldier's chest. A spear impaled the Oracle Knight as he stumbled back, and Cass didn't even check to see if he was dead before turning around, sprinting towards Luke.

The redhead was on the ground, eyes wide in fear, but after a quick once-over, Cass decided that he was physically unharmed. The soldier that went after Luke was on the ground, unmoving and dead, but Tear was laying there with him. Shooting a quick glance at Guy—decided that both men nearby weren't able to help her at the moment—Cassia swiftly dropped to her knees and looked the young woman over.

Her arm was bleeding heavily, but Tear was awake, gloved hand over her wound as she sent a steady stream of Seventh Fonons into her injury to fix the damage. Cass asked her if she was all right, if she needed a bandage, water, anything, but Tear shook her head, said that she would be fine.

At Jade's suggestion, the party decided that it would be best to set up camp for the night instead of hurrying to St. Binah, in order to give Tear time to recover.

Everything was set up fairly quickly. They had moved a little ways away from the battle with the soldiers, deeper into the trees so if there were any more wandering around they wouldn't see them and the glow for the fire would be well hidden by the foliage. Tear leaned against a tree stump, occasionally muttering something and her cut would glow a soft green. Guy said that he would take the first watch, and after that was Jade. Truth be told, however, Cassia didn't think she would get all that much sleep tonight. Despite the calmness of the air and how serene everything seemed now, breathing seemed to be more taxing than it was before.

She didn't know exactly why, but it seemed sort of like the blood of the fallen made the air heavy, nearly unbearable to breathe. Cass could recall feeling this way sometimes when she was recovering in the infirmary in Baticul, and she was hardly able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. It wasn't as bad as it was three years ago, but she felt weighed down, sluggish. Surely it wasn't the death of the soldiers—the specks of blood that covered her when Jade impaled the one she was fighting didn't bother her in the slightest. She'd seen things die before—nothing more than animals and insects, yes—but she would have thought seeing people die would do something to her, considering the fact that it felt like fighting was something she had done before. Trigger a memory, maybe. So far, though, nothing. It was slightly upsetting.

Almost immediately she caught herself and shook her head roughly. People had just died and she was the most upset about how it didn't benefit _her?_ That couldn't be something people normally thought. Luke clearly didn't think that way, and Natalia wouldn't either. So why was she? She already took their lives from them in exchange of her own (she didn't kill any of them herself, sure, but her hands were stained nonetheless), and now Cass wanted _more_ from them? That was horrible; she shouldn't be thinking like that.

"Cass?" Luke nearly whispered, making her jump slightly. He sidled up to her so they were both leaning against the tree. He was still uncharacteristically quiet from the fight earlier.

"How are you feeling, Luke?" she asked, voice equally as quiet. She glanced at him, but didn't bother maintaining eye contact, stared into the fire instead. She wondered why he was talking to her and not to Guy. They were so close and she didn't think Luke liked her much. Tolerated her, yes, but he was usually so terse to her—treated her like everyone except his parents and Guy and Van.

"You don't remember anything about killing anyone do you?" he asked. Cass shook her head. "It doesn't bother you at all? Killing all these people who have families and lives and don't want to die?"

Once more she shook her head. "It does," she replied slowly. And she was truthful, but not in the way Luke wanted her to be. He was clearly distraught from everything and Cass refrained from clarifying. "But this is what the world is like." Luke made a confused sound and she turned to look at him. His expression almost matched the noise he made, though it looked a bit more distraught. His frown wasn't quite so bored or angry as it typically was.

"It seems to me that, in order to survive one needs to be a thief," Cass continued. "A wolf kills a rabbit so it can live another day. As everything is now, we need to steal the lives of others in order to keep our own from being stolen. The world is quite good at making everything self-centered." Almost absently she added, "It didn't appear that this was an issue when the chefs in the manor prepared your meals. Is it because what you eat isn't the same species as you?"

"That's not it at all!" Luke's tone rose. He sounded almost vehement. "I wouldn't kill a harmless rabbit, and it's not my fault if the chefs decide to cook one for dinner. They don't even look like animals afterwards. With people…" he trailed off, but Cass managed to finish his train of thought.

"Focus on their helmets… not their faces of shapes," she suggested after a moment of silence. "Perhaps imagining them as faceless shapes, monsters, will help you… defend yourself."

Luke didn't reply. He simply nodded once and got up without a word, looking rather solemn. Cass stared after him for a minute before returning her gaze to the crackling fire. He was too kind for his own good, and it was a shame he tried to cover that with a harsh and rude persona.

The blonde leaned back against the tree trunk and let out a quiet sigh. What those Oracle Knights were doing was wrong. They were trying their hardest to make sure that a war did break out, and Cass did not understand one bit. _Why_ would _anyone_ want hundreds—thousands—to die, both soldiers and innocent people? There was enough needless bloodshed everyday caused by bandits, murderers, and what have you. Why were they fighting so hard to paint the earth red?

"Mieeeeuu, are you all right, Tear?" came a high pitched voice, interrupting Cass's thoughts and making her jump slightly. Gray eyes darting to the source of the weird sound, she saw a blue, furry looking thing peak its head out of Luke's item bag. It had long ears, tipped with white fur, and its head looked much too big for its body. It must have been a child.

"What… is that?" Cass asked, never seeing anything like it before.

Tear smiled softly and reached out her uninjured arm, the small thing hopped on over to her outreached hand. "Yes, don't worry about me. This is Mieu," she explained. "He's a cheagle."

"Oh, I see…" she trailed off, putting aside the fact that she didn't know what a cheagle was supposed to be, and keeping her eyes on the small animal. Cass had a strong connection with animals, kept care of the stray cats that wandered Baticul's upper tier and felt like she understood them well enough. However, she knew that they didn't just up and start conversations with people. "Why is he talking?"

"The stupid thing never shuts up," Luke complained. "That ring he carries around lets him talk, though he should _know_ by now that he shouldn't be talking." The redhead gave the blue furball a look that said shut up, no one likes you.

The blue creature's ears drooped. "Mieeuuu…"

Cassia sent a terse glare at Luke, but it was ineffective since he was staring off into space. Instead, she turned her attention away from their heir apparent and gave Mieu a small smile, reaching out to get him to come over. He bounded over to her and came to a halt in her lap. She gingerly set her hand on his large head, pet his long ears tentatively.

"You smell familiar," she could barely hear Mieu mumble against her stomach.

Cass stilled her hand. "How do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"Well… kind of familiar," he clarified, sounding rather sleepy. "It almost smells like home."

She had been spending a lot of time outside, but she didn't know what kind of places cheagles lived in. Was it a wooded area, or maybe out in the plains? His fur color even suggested someplace closer to the water. "Where is home, Mieu?" she questioned. After a moment, she realized she wasn't going to get a response from the cheagle: he was fast asleep in her lap.

Not wanting to wake the little thing up, Cass just rested her head against the bark of the tree, tried to will herself to fall asleep and rest while she could. She could ask Mieu what he meant later—hopefully cheagles had better sleeping habits than cats did.

The next morning they packed up before the sun was fully risen. Sometime in the middle of the night, when sleep managed to find Cassia and lull her into a restful darkness, the cheagle got out of her lap and made his way back into the item bag. She didn't see him at all, but decided that she was patient enough to wait until Mieu made his way back out in the open. Tear seemed to be fully cured of her injury, and the six started for the city of St. Binah. Luke declared that he was ready to protect himself, and stood by his decision when Tear tried to break his resolve. Cass figured that it was good to make sure that he wouldn't freeze again in battle, but Tear's methods were a little harsh in her opinion.

The blonde took Luke's words to heart as well. Even though she didn't do much yesterday aside from serve as a minor distraction, she would steel herself to the idea of ending another person's life. Cass had weapons, she knew how to use them, and she needed to stay alive. While she didn't necessarily want to stain her hands with blood, it was something that had to be done to continue on and help put an end to the talks of a war between Kimlasca and Malkuth.

By the time the sun was halfway across the sky they arrived back at St. Binah. Or, at least, they would have were it not for a pair of Oracle Knights, garbed in their typical gray regalia, guarding the only entrance into the city. They were likely only there because they knew St. Binah was the closest town to where Guy and Cass found everyone on the Tartarus: it was the most likely stop. The group camped outside of the gates for a couple of minutes, but in that small amount of time it didn't seem like they were any closer to getting into the city. The soldiers would be there for a long time.

"Is it possible that… Anise went to a different location? It doesn't look like we'll be finding a way to get into the city…" Cass said softly, looking back up the beaten path that led into the gates. Nothing was coming down it.

"If Anise is still alive, she was supposed to meet us at the military base here," Jade replied. Unlike the blonde, he stayed focused on the pair of soldiers. Likely deciding if causing a scene and forcibly removing them would be a considerable course of action. "Stopping by would be in our best interests."

The blonde nodded, silently got to her feet and walked away from the others, checking the perimeter over once more, trying to find another way in. Scaling the wall wouldn't be an option; the barrier around the city made quite the impressive defense. Not only that, but climbing over would be incredibly conspicuous. With that in mind, Cass focused her attention lower to the ground, trying to find a hole in the wall or something to squeeze through. It wasn't long until she found something that might be useful.

There was a small section of the wall that had cracked slightly; bits and pieces of the stone that made the fortress had fallen into the grass. The broken off pieces were rather weak, crumbling easily when hit hard enough against the wall, but the broken portion of the wall wouldn't budge when she tried to break it a little more. Making a hole big enough to go through wouldn't be possible. Luckily there was some cobblestone piled up to repair the broken area, as well as a regular hammer and something that resembled cement.

Testing its weight and its durability, Cassia decided that throwing a rock at one of the guards would be good, but it would only take one of them out; the other would probably stay at his post. It was worth a try, though. Cass just didn't have a good enough throwing arm for the task. Tear utilized throwing knives, maybe she had the strength and precision to knock one of them out?

She picked up two of the larger stones and brought them back to the other five, glad to discover that they hadn't managed to get inside and leave her alone. "Do you think these will work?" she asked once she was within hearing range, lifting up the slabs of stone so they could see. "I don't have the best throwing arm," she admitted, "but, Tear, you could knock them unconscious, yes?"

Tear nodded. "I can only throw one, though, then the other guard will be able to find out where we are from the direction the rock came from."

"I can get the other one," Luke proclaimed loudly, snatching one of the rocks Cass held. "I got the left one."

Tear gave him a look before taking the other rock from Cass. Tear counted down, making sure that they would both throw at the same time. It was synced perfectly, and Luke could actually throw a lot better than Cass thought he would be able to. While Tear's rock soared strongly through the air, hitting the right guard's armored head with a resounding _whack!,_ Luke made the left guard stumble backward with the strength he put into the throw, shattering the stone against the guard's helmet. Luke's target hit the ground almost immediately, and Tear's wobbled around but he obviously couldn't stay standing for long. When the second guard hit the floor, the group ran into the safety of the city.

"Luke, I'm rather surprised that you were able to throw that well," Cass told the redhead once they were safely in the middle of the crowds. He gave her a smug look at the compliment.

"He used to throw rocks at the White Knights around the manor to try and get out," Guy explained, earning a glare from the noble. The blond laughed lightly at the expression, but obeyed the wordless command.

"What a convenient skill for a young noble to pick up," Jade said with a smile. "It would have been horrible if the Oracle Knights discovered you and took you back to Daath if you couldn't throw. The chances of war breaking out would have become much higher." Luke glared at the colonel, opened his mouth to retort, but Jade interrupted cheerily. "Now, let's go to the Malkuth base here and find out Anise's fate, shall we?"

He didn't wait for a reply before he walked off ahead to a large building whose entrance was flanked by two guards in blue. Cass stared at his uniformed back in confusion before following after the older man. How could he sound so happy about that subject matter? The Malkuth soldiers stepped aside, and Jade waved them in to follow in after. The inside was rather ornate, not really something the blonde was expecting in a military base. Sounds of an argument could be heard from behind the closest closed door, but Cass couldn't make out the words.

Jade looked over at the door, his faint grin never fading. "The soldier outside told us to wait, but judging by the topic in the meeting room, our interruption would solve the argument." The colonel didn't bother waiting for anyone else's opinion on the matter of barging in before he knocked loudly on the door, just walked on in without waiting for a reply. That was something Cass would have expected from Luke, not a military commander.

The two men inside didn't seem bothered at all by his interruption. In fact, the older of the two, whom Jade referred to as Field Marshal McGovern, appeared pleasantly surprised to see the colonel while the younger, Glenn, greeted Jade politely and remained relatively silent as the two older men spoke pleasantries for a few minutes. Once the pointless, idle banter ceased, Jade asked if either of the two had gotten a letter from a Fon Master Guardian. That must have been Anise. Cass spared a glance at Ion. He must have a lot of faith in her if she was the only one accompanying him.

"Ah, that…" the younger said. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we opened it to confirm its contents, for security reasons."

"That's fine, Glenn," the colonel assured him. "There shouldn't be anything in there that would be a problem for you to see."

Glenn nodded, went over to the table before shuffling through the papers scattered on it. Quickly, he located the letter and handed it to Jade. He scanned it, a small smirk forming on his face, before handing it to Luke, saying half of it was written for him.

Cass looked over the redhead's shoulder, wondering why Anise would write to Luke in the first place (only to see frivolous looking handwriting with hearts drawn between words). Deciding it wouldn't be right to actually read the letter, she stepped away, let Luke read in peace, and listened as Jade revealed some of its contents.

"It appears that Anise went on ahead to the next location," Jade said as Luke slowly read his half of the letter, expression slowly becoming an odd mixture of looking sick and embarrassed. "We should be on our way after we gather a few supplies."

Guy tried to stifle a laugh at something Luke muttered. After a quick look, Cass focused once more on the colonel. "What's the 'next location?" she asked.

"Kaitzur," he responded. "It's a city to the southwest of here, on the other side of the Fubras River."

Cass nodded. That was good, that they were heading south. The likelihood that they would be able to meet up with Van Grants was good, especially since he was the one with the passports (this realization made her wonder why she and Guy also weren't given temporary passports; it would certainly make the journey easier if they reached Kimlascan territory before they found the commandant).

"If we make it to Kaitzur, we can catch up with Van," Guy brought up, voicing Cass's thoughts.

Jade excused the group from the meeting, and with that, they filed out of the military base to slowly make their way to the port city.

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**Author's Note: Soooooo remember when I said that my classes didn't seem like they would be too much work, and that I'd have tons of time to write this semester? Yeaaah, not the case. My structure lab is rather intense with how much it wants me to do every week, and it doesn't help that I have no idea what I'm doing. Updates will still be sporadic and random, but they SHOULD happen eventually. In other news my new home is super awesome-I'm finally able to hang up all my geology posters and my roommates put up Marvel/Avengers stuff as decor. Super cool.**

**ANYWAY enough about my life. Here's chapter 7, hope you liked it. It sort of got away from me and I'm not really sure how it ended up being this long, but it just happened. I think it's the longest one for a while, but I can't remember. **


	8. Surrounded

**Disclaimer: **Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

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**Nederim**

Chapter 08 / Surrounded

_"With the light the memories all rush into his head." – Dream Theater_

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Getting out of the city wouldn't have been an issue. It _shouldn't_ have been an issue. The knights flanking the entrance to the citadel (who appeared to have been replaced after Luke and Tear knocked out the other two) most likely wouldn't have through twice about the people leaving—after all, they were on the lookout for a group seeking refuge. The real problem was that five people allied with the Oracle Knights were interrogating the guards on watch.

The moment Jade caught sight of the group, he ducked off to the side, telling the others to do the same. From the vantage point, Cass was able to recognize one of the people. There was the strict, blonde woman from the Tartarus.

Joining her was a young, pink-haired girl with a cat-like monster at her heels, sitting calmly. The girl herself did not look too threatening; she had a look of sadness on her face, but the monster that was with her was another story entirely. It looked calm now, but once Cassia looked at its claws, she figured that was what tackled her to the ground outside of the Tartarus.

A little farther away was a boy that was dressed in a similar uniform to the blonde woman, except that instead of the clothing being highlighted with white, it had green to be the burst of color. He wore a golden, beak shaped masked over his face.

The next unknown character was large, intimidating not only in size, but with the scythe he carried on his back. His outfit kept with the same theme as the other three, being mostly black, but surprisingly, his added color did not match his hair like the girl in pink and the boy in green. While the giant's hair was spiked back and an icy blue, he chose the color red to outline his uniform. There was a mane of spike adorning his collar, and Cass didn't really want to know if those were as sharp as they appeared.

The last one was sitting off in the distance, and she didn't even notice him until he began to cackle in their conversation. He glided into the group of people on a floating… arm chair. The members of his group seemed to shoot him dubious looks, as if they weren't sure _why_ he was with them, or why he was talking. His flower petal collar was rather eccentric; perhaps that was why they didn't seem to take him seriously.

The giant ordered the Oracle Knights to move out, including the lower class soldiers, and the group of five followed the troops away from St. Binah (the one in the chair staying behind for a moment and looking extremely frustrated).

"This is the first time I've seen the Six God-Generals," Guy said, slowly getting out of the hiding spot. Cass followed after, still taking care to stay in an inconspicuous location next to the wall, in case one of them happened to turn around and recognize her. If she knew the blonde, one of the others might recognize her.

"Who are the Six God-Generals?" Luke asked. Ion answered, saying they were the six executive officers of the Order of Lorelei, as Cass stared at their still retreating silhouettes. There were only five here. Which was missing?

"There's Largo the Black Lion, Legretta the Quick, Arietta the Wild, Dist the Reaper, Sync the Tempest, and…" Guy paused. "The one missing is Asch the Bloody."

"They're Van's immediate subordinates," Tear brought up. "If the Six God-Generals are taking action, then the one who's trying to cause a war is Van."

"The Six God-Generals side with the Grand Maestro. Mohs is likely giving orders to Van," Ion said.

Tear defended Grand Maestro Mohs' position on the war, but wasn't able to say anything about the mission she was on that would actually provide proof to her statement. Cass furrowed her brows in confusion, completely lost on that matter. Ion, the Fon Master, the head of the Order of Lorelei, didn't want a war to begin. That is why he's here in the first place. Shouldn't the rest of the Order share his same ideals? Before the blonde was able to ask about this, Luke got riled up at Tear's accusation, started making wild claims about Tear being a spy, since "Master Van wouldn't ever try to start a war!" Ion and Guy stopped the argument as quickly as they could, managed to calm down Luke a little bit in the process. Ion, ever the peace-keeper, recommended that they rest at the inn here for the night. No one objected—it was the only way they could be sure not to be caught by any Oracle Knights that might be wandering the outskirts of the city still.

Taking advantage of the lack of conflict and conversation, Cass decided to speak up. "I'm a little confused," she piped up suddenly. Tear turned to look at the older girl. "Why would Grand Maestro Mohs—or Commandant Grants—stand in opposition to Ion's stance on the war? Someone from the Order is sending soldiers to stop him. Doesn't everyone in the Order desire the fulfillment the Score?"

"You're not familiar with the Order of Lorelei, either?" Tear asked, looking a little worried. Cassia blinked at her, not really understanding what she meant, until she realized that Luke must have asked the same thing. She looked down, almost sheepishly, and felt a little stupid for not knowing how the Order of Lorelei worked since it must have been common knowledge. Tear answered her question. "There are two factions in the Order. There's one that's centered on the Fon Master: the reformist faction, and one centered on Grand Maestro Mohs: the conservative faction. Ion's focuses more on Yulia's teachings, while Mohs' focuses on the Score."

"Oh, I see…" Cass trailed off. "Are you part of the conservative faction, Tear? You defended the Grand Maestro quite vehemently."

Tear shook her head and denied the accusation. "I'm neutral. Yulia's Score is important, but so are the Fon Master's wishes."

The blonde nodded, understanding a little bit more than before, but still felt out of the loop. She shot Ion a glance as they walked into the inn, paid the woman at the desk for two rooms. The way Tear worded her answer, it seemed like Ion didn't care much for the Score. Was he doing something to oppose it? Cassia didn't know all that much about the Score, never really cared about it like her coworkers in the castle did, and her knowledge about Yulia and her teaching were just as limited. From the stories, it seemed like she was just an extraordinary fonist, but otherwise completely normal. Perhaps that was something she should keep to herself, especially since she was travelling with the Fon Master. She didn't want to insult him.

Despite the ratio of men to women in this group, Tear and Cass were given their own room while the other four shared a single one, something Cass was immensely thankful for. The sun would be setting in a little bit, so the women decided to go out into the town and buy more supplies, since the walk to Kaitzur would take a few weeks. According to the Tear, there were a few small villages between St. Binah and the border, but they wouldn't be able to refresh their supplies too often, or find a roof over their heads most nights. Cass nodded, completely fine with sleeping outside.

Shopping for food was a bit of a hassle, as Cassia tried to keep Luke's food preferences in mind. His picky eating habits were going to be the death of him, especially since good quality chicken was _so_ _expensive_. In the end, there wasn't much she could do; they didn't have the funds to satiate Luke's palette and anything he liked wouldn't have kept like dried meat could. That upset Cass a little, who was fond of fruit which also wouldn't last too long.

After getting a decent amount of food, Tear and Cass stopped by a medicine shop, using most of their funds on different gels, anything they could afford because they would probably need it for walking halfway across the continent. This would be a long trip…

The girls returned to their room and dropped off their new supplies before heading into the boys' room, where Jade asked Ion about where the soldiers took him after they took over the Tartarus. He said that they went to a Sephiroth. Luckily for Cass, Luke was just as clueless about what these were, so everyone else explained. Sephiroth were ten very powerful fon slots, which basically meant that memory particles—which were a planetary fuel made of Seventh Fonons—gathered and concentrated fonons easily. Of course, Ion wasn't able to say what the God-Generals brought him there for, which made Luke complain again. Before anyone could reprimand the redhead for being annoying, Luke decided to go off to sleep. Figuring it was best to leave the noble alone for now, Cass decided not to break the news of their food purchases tonight. He was already in a bad enough mood.

Cass and Tear turned in just after entering their room, not bothering to say much other than a short "good night" to one another. Apparently Tear was a woman of few words as Cass was. Pulling the sheets up to her chin and shutting her eyes, it didn't take long for the world to fade to black and sleep to overtake the blonde.

* * *

_"Cassia! You were supposed to watch after him! How could you be so careless? He could have been killed!" _

_Her voice was harsh, her anger reaching her amber eyes and making them flash with an inner fire. A fire that conveyed more than just fury, but a huge amount of distaste. Cassia didn't like the expression, averting her gaze to the wooden floor and grasping at her arm. It was covered in blood and her sleeve was all but torn to shreds. Her arm didn't look much better off, cuts trailing down it. "I'm so sorry, M-Miss Sonel… I didn't notice the w-wolves until Levi started shouting…"_

_The woman shot her another heated glare before directing her attention back to the young boy. His eyes were open, ochre that matched Sonel's directed at the floor, but his silver hair had a bit of blood on the fringe from the cut on his forehead. His knees were scuffed and his palms had a few cuts from where he fell, but other than that he was fine. He didn't say anything, just kept looking downwards. Sonel went back to casting another arte to heal Levi, making the small injures vanish. She checked over him once more, earning an embarrassed groan of "Mother…" from him. Nodding to herself, she turned away from Levi and focused once more at the girl, standing there and trying not to cry from the pain and the older woman's cruel words._

_"Go sit on the table," Miss Sonel all but spat. "I can't have you bleeding all over the floor. Levi, you may leave while I tend to Cassia." Her tone towards him was much warmer, but what did Cassia expect? After all, she loved her son._

_The young girl did as she was ordered and the younger boy scampered off almost immediately. Miss's hands were not gentle as they moved Cassia's limbs around, using the Seventh Fonon to close everything up, ceasing the flow of blood. Her body still ached tremendously. "There," Sonel said, crossing her arms over her chest, frowning. "How are you supposed to become the Lugus if you cannot even protect Levi from harm? Nature is supposed to bend to your will; if you can't keep a few monsters at bay then you are undeserving of the title. Now, clean up your mess. Your father can't see all the dirt you tracked in." With that, Miss turned on her heel, leaving young Cassia alone on the table while the light-haired woman muttered, "How someone so wicked is destined to become the Lugus is beyond me… perhaps there's a way to bypass the line…" under her breath. That hurt, too._

_She tried her hardest, used all the training Daddy taught her to protect Levi. Fonic artes weren't easy no matter how much she practiced, but she was doing decent in hand-to-hand combat! The wolves didn't even hurt him much—it was all the fall he took. Miss didn't seem to care what hurt him, though. Cassia would just have to make sure that next time they went out together, she would make sure he didn't even trip over his own feet! Miss Sonel would be proud of her then!_

_Cassia did as she was told, cleaned up her mess silently. She worked hard, wanting to make the floors shine for Miss and Daddy, though they never would because they weren't made to shine. Levi peeked in at one point, and Cassia tried to say something to him, but he hid quickly. She sniffed and rubbing at her gray eyes, wishing that Daddy would be back from his trip right now._

_Daddy came home that night, to Cassia's utter delight. She and him and Miss and Levi all ate together. She was still hurting a little, Miss didn't bother to do much other than close the wounds, but that didn't keep the grin from Cassia's face. Her complexion didn't fit in, too light despite all the time she spent outside compared to the tanned skin of everyone else, but when Daddy gave her a smile, his stormy eyes shining with pride at something she did, she _knew beyond a doubt_ that she could make him and Miss proud. She'd take that title, earn it, deserve it._

Beams of sunlight shone through the blinds and onto Cassia's face. Gray eyes opening blearily, she sat up, ran a hand through her unruly hair. She hadn't had a dream in a long time, not for at least a few months. On instinct she reached for her notebook on her bedside table, only to remember too late that she wasn't at the castle anymore. She didn't bother bringing her dream journal with her. Cass frowned to herself, the feeling of determination that she had in her dream fading almost instantly. Perhaps Luke would let her have some paper later… she did need to write to Natalia still.

Tear was already out of bed and no longer in the room, downstairs eating if Cass had to take a guess. She got ready silently, trying to remember everything in the dream to how she felt to Miss's words. She still couldn't do fonic artes, was told it wouldn't be good for her fonon levels if she tried. That hadn't changed at all, it seemed. Maybe she was from a family of powerful fonists? It would make sense, the disappointment in Sonel's voice and the harsh words about Cassia's inability to protect that Levi boy.

What was that about a 'Lugus' also? As far as she knew she had never heard the word before and even as she repeated it to herself out loud it didn't give her any sort of feeling—she didn't associate it with anything. Normally something as strange as that would feel… familiar somehow.

Everyone met in the lobby of the inn shortly after Cass entered it. After Luke joined them, they were finally able to leave St. Binah and head to Kaitzur. A flood earlier in the season caused the bridge to Akzeriuth to collapse, making them have to travel through Fubras River to reach the border. It would take a few more days, but that didn't seem like it would be much deterrence to keeping Luke away from Van.

The days that past were short and not very exciting. The weather was beautiful, not too hot during the day and not too cold in the dead of the night, and overall left Cass in a great mood, her lips upturned almost constantly. The plains of Rugnica were peaceful and lush and everything Cass loved about the outdoors. Her mood even made her more inclined to join in most of the conversations; if something piqued her interest, she was quick to satiate her curiosity. She asked Mieu about what he meant by her smelling like home, and he clarified— said she smelled of grass and dirt and rushing, clean water. Everyone had been outside for days on end, but apparently she was the only one that smelled familiar to him.

Occasionally they would wander into a nest of birds and the monsters would attack, or walk on a boar's territory, but they were nothing the group of five couldn't handle in a few minutes (though Ion stood in the back, ever the pacifist). The battles dampened Cass's happiness ever so slightly, but there was nothing she could do about it. The fight was inevitable. When it came to meals, Luke stopped complaining after the first few days, resigned himself to eating whatever was available. They would take turns cooking every night, but it didn't take much time for a unanimous decision to be reached and remove Luke from the rotation.

Night shifts were kept mostly to Jade and Guy, though Tear, Luke, and Cass would took one of the night shifts when they decided the men deserved a break (or, in Luke's case, was forced into taking a shift). It had been the night before reaching the banks of the Fubras River when the blonde took over Tear's position so she could get some sleep, when Cass realized she hadn't sent a letter to Natalia like she was supposed to.

Cass cursed to herself under her breath as she dug through the item bag hastily, trying to find something to write on and write with, as well as a cheat sheet for the Fonic alphabet and another blank sheet she could use to translate the letter from the weird language she remembered to the fonic language.

A voice interrupted her in the middle of translating profuse apologies to the princess, since she wouldn't be able to send the letter until they reached the border. "You're rather old for not knowing the Fonic alphabet, Cass." His voice was smooth, even though it should have been slightly raspy like Cassia's became after waking up and not drinking water. Her gray eyes peered up at the colonel, giving him a slight nod of acknowledgment before returning to the paper.

"I didn't know the Fonic alphabet until recently…" she explained. "Princess Natalia found me after the battle in Northern Chesedonia three years ago and I had amnesia. She believes that Malkuth caused it, like they did when they kidnapped Luke."

Jade sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It seems that once we arrive in Baticul to talk about the peace treaty, I'll also have to talk some sense into your princess. The Malkuth military doesn't utilize technology that would cause amnesia in the manner Luke was affected."

Cass looked up from the paper again at his exasperated tone, raising an eyebrow at him. Wasn't there some rule against divulging military secrets—or lack thereof—to people? "Supposedly, mine wasn't as bad as Luke's," she told him quietly. "He had to relearn everything, I heard… how to talk, walk, _everything_. I still remembered my name, and this," Cass picked up the second alphabet sheet, held it out to the colonel. "Does any of it… look familiar to you?"

The language she knew had less letters, which resulting in her misspelling words quite often, and wasn't nearly as fluid looking as the Fonic alphabet was. Hers had sharp angles and lines, while the other had very few angles—nearly everything was rounded. Jade took the paper from her, looked it over quickly. In the end he shook his head and handed it back to her. "My apologies, I've never seen something like that. Perhaps it's a different dialect of Ancient Ispanian?"

It was Cass's turn to shake her head. "It isn't; it sounds different and the letters don't share the same sounds… This just helps because it uses the same sounds, even if the words aren't the same." She nearly sighed. She was hoping that maybe Malkuth knew the language, too. Kimlasca certainly didn't. Maybe Ion would know it…

"'Zirdo-ge babalon,'" Jade said suddenly, making Cass's head shoot up to meet his gaze. She gave him a worried, questioning look, wondering why he would say such a thing. He looked amused at her expression, but explained, "You said it a few times in your sleep. Occasionally you'll say something else, but you repeat that."

She felt her face heat up and swung her head in a way so her hair would curtain her face, hiding any sign of embarrassment before he could see. Cass translated for him, not seeing any harm in it. "'I am not wicked' is what I said." Miss Sonel called her that in the dream… It must have left a deep scar on her conscious to have her repeating it in her sleep. The silver-haired woman must have had a big impact on her, and likely not in a positive manner. She couldn't remember most of her dreams, but maybe if she knew what she was saying she would be able to recall certain events. She may not have particularly minded never remembering her past, but she wasn't going to let the opportunity to know it slip through her fingers.

"Jade, will you…" Cass hesitated, wondering if she should make the request. She bit her lip slightly and lifted her gaze to his. "That phrase… it's related to a dream I had a few nights ago. I think it may have been a memory. Will you… let me know if I say anything else in my sleep that you don't understand? I think it may help me regain some of my memory…"

He kept that smile on his face and simply shrugged. "I don't see any harm in doing that."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Jade… Though, shouldn't you be asleep? Or do you want to take over my watch?"

"Oh, no. My old bones need a break after keeping up with you youngsters." Her smile disappeared. Surely he couldn't have been that much older than she was (of course, she didn't exactly _know_ her age). Jade wandered off to the other side of the fire place, and she spent the rest of the night in silence.

Fubras River looked much calmer than it must have been earlier in the year. The water wasn't anywhere close to the banks, and there were even bars of land in the shallower sections of the river, which much it so much easier to travel through. While the current was fairly strong, it wasn't enough to carry anyone downstream to the ocean unless they weren't paying much attention. But if it reached its banks or even flooded, Cass could see it doing serious damage to the surrounding areas, especially since the land was so flat in this part of Malkuth.

"I don't see how a river like this could take out the bridge to Akzeriuth. It doesn't look all that special," Luke brought up once they reached one of the sand bars, close to the middle of the river.

"If it rains a lot over a short period of time, the river would be filled all the way to the banks," Cass told him, pointing back the way they had come. "That would be right up to where the land gained its downward slope, perhaps higher if it flooded. Water is a strong force, and it should not be underestimated."

"Cass is right," Tear agreed. "Both the sea and rivers can be dangerous, especially during floods. They can be unpredictable as well."

Luke waved her words off. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine now, though. And it's not like I'll have to deal with it once I get back to Baticul. We're almost out of the river, anyway."

Cass sighed, wondering how someone could just shrug off information like that. While Luke might live on the top tier of the city, that didn't make the Kimlascan capital the best place to live during a food. There were hardly any ways for rain water to drain from the highest tier of the city to the ocean—it could get flooded easily.

Once they cleared the river with nothing more than soaked shoes (and, in the case of Tear and Luke, pants), they made their way back up the banks. The ground didn't even begin to level out before a ball of lightning flew right in front of the group. Cass, who happened to be close to the front, gasped from the shock and stumbled backwards. Tear steadied her before brandishing her staff, wary.

Two large cat-like monsters charged forward, stopping before the group. A young, pink-haired girl climbed off the back of one of the creatures, and Ion stepped forward.

"Arietta! Please, let us go. We can't let this war happen."

Cassia's eyes narrowed slightly. This was one of the God-Generals from St. Binah. She glanced at Ion, before moving closer to the girl, standing slightly in front of the Fon Master, but off to his side. Arietta didn't seem to notice the defensive shield the blonde was trying to be, instead buried her face into the doll she was holding. "I want to help you, Ion… but those people are my enemies! They killed Mommy!"

"What are you talking about? When did we ever do something like that?!" Luke shouted.

"Mommy moved into the Cheagle Woods after her home burned down. She was just trying to protect my liger brothers and sisters…" she waved her arm haphazardly, wildly gesturing to the monsters at her side, "and you _killed_ her! I won't ever forgive you!" she cried, raising her doll up into the air. Before she could command her ligers to attack, or attack them herself, the ground began to shake violently.

Cass stumbled once more, the tremors through the earth throwing her off balance. She managed to keep her balance despite the constant quaking, but this was _not _something she expected to happen. She had never experienced an earthquake before, but she knew how unpredictable they were. The ground shifted, misaligning itself and opening up fissures in the ground. Purple smog began to seep through the cracks, and Cass covered her face with her sleeve on instinct, but couldn't quite stop the small coughing fit in time. The others followed in suit, but Arietta wasn't that reactive. She fell to the ground along with her monsters, and then the ground began to fault.

Luke started to panic, and Cass almost yelled at him to calm down, but the sound of singing caused her to stay silent. Her head turned towards Tear, and a look of utter confusion formed on her face. Why was she singing?

"Fonic hymns at a time like this?" Jade questioned, voicing Cass's thoughts.

"That's one of Yulia's fonic hymns!"

Cassia inhaled sharply once more as a dome of light surrounded everyone. Tear continued to sing her song and, little by little, the smog began to clear away. Once her voice faded, the barrier did as well. "I've applied a vibration identical to the inherent vibration of the miasma," she explained quickly. "It's a temporary shield. It won't last long."

"Then we need to get out of here before the miasma comes back," Jade stated. Cass nodded to herself in agreement, almost started to head back up the bank, until she noticed that Jade was walking sideways, conjuring up his spear as he made his way over to the unconscious Arietta.

Was he… going to kill her? The blonde frowned and sprinted over as fast as she could. She was defenseless and young and had done nothing but pose as a minor road block. There was _no_ reason for her to die.

Jade paused slightly after Luke shouted, demanding to know why Arietta had to die. Using the slight hesitation to her advantage, Cassia managed to make her way between the colonel and God-General before he reached her. "She is defenseless and just a little girl," she stated, mentally thanked Luke for his opposition to the action, looking up at Jade defiantly. "You cannot kill her."

"If we let her live, she'll come after us again," he explained, and Cass thought she saw his crimson eyes narrow the slightest bit. Aside from that (which might have only been her imagination), Jade was stoic, expression unwavering.

The attendant understood that, but the fact remained that Arietta had done them no harm, and it was possible that she would continue to do so. It just wouldn't sit well with her to end the life of someone who might have had no intention of ending theirs.

"But how can you kill someone unconscious and defenseless?" Luke retorted, his eyes as cold as Cass's were.

Tear shook her head and sighed. "You're too soft, Luke."

He whirled on her, turning away from Jade. "Shut up you cold hearted-!"

"Let her go Jade," Ion pleaded. "Arietta was originally one of the Fon Master Guardians."

He did nothing for a moment. Eventually, he yielded, made his spear vanish as he took a few steps away from the girl. Cass relaxed, covering another cough with her sleeve. She didn't even notice she was as tense as she was.

"You don't mind if we move her away from the miasma before we leave, do you?" Guy asked.

Jade turned to the blond, a smile on his face despite the situation, but Cass didn't like how it felt. It was too cold to fit with an expression that was supposed to be warm. "I don't think I can complain about that, seeing as how I'm already letting her live."

Cassia liked to think she wasn't one to become angry. She was level-headed, rather impassive when Luke tried to get a rise out of her. The redhead was annoying and abrasive, but she had never been legitimately angry at him, or anyone else as far as she could remember. She didn't even think she had ever used the word 'hate' in reference to a person, either. But if there was any time or any person she would consider using it in relation to, it was to Jade right now. How in the world could he be so… Cass didn't even believe that being in the military could turn someone to react like he did.

Arietta had significantly injured _no one_ and they would have reaped no benefits with her death. If anything, the rest of the Oracle Knights would have made getting Ion to Baticul much more difficult. It wasn't like killing a rabbit and then eating it, or killing a soldier that was aiming to end yours. Her death would have been utterly pointless. It didn't make sense to her. Jade immediately wanting to do something that he wouldn't be able to amend left a bad taste in her mouth. He had been so kind the night before, too… going so far as to say he would help her. What had happened? Or was this the type of person he actually was?

This remained at the forefront of her mind the rest of the way to the border. Luke always complained about Tear being cold-hearted. But, after spending so much time with her thoughts, Cass could only see that Jade brought that coldness to a completely new level. It was… much, much worse than Tear's. And that frightened her a little.

About a day and a half into the walk to Kaitzur, the colonel dropped his lighthearted attitude, which was beginning to grate on Cass's nerves since she decided it was a façade, and his tone became a tad bit more serious as he asked about Tear's song back at the river. Tear explained that her hymns were different from regular spell incantations, because they were passed down from Yulia's descendants.

After that conversation, and for the last day and a half of walking, Cass began to interact with her companions more, finally withdrawing from herself. She observed Jade like a hawk, narrowing her eyes at him when something he said didn't match the tone he said it in, but he either didn't notice her intensely scrutinizing gaze or ignored it. She volunteered to keep watch; having Jade listen to her talk in her sleep made her somewhat uneasy now.

When they walked into the border fortress, a young girl was talking to a Malkuth soldier, begging to be let through despite losing her identification as passport. According to Luke, that was Anise.

Cass frowned. She seemed a bit too young to be crossing the continent herself.

Everything happened to fast, after Anise began to step away from the soldiers. They didn't let her through; Anise tackled Luke into a hug once she realized he was there, and flirted with him more than Imri had ever flirted with her at once. Luke was attacked by a bloodthirsty redhead, but Van appeared out of the blue and parried the blade that was aiming to end Luke's life.

Tear took out some of her knives, but Van held up a hand, telling her that he wasn't planning on starting a fight. He'd wait at the inn for them, and fill them in on what was going to happen, especially since Luke, Tear, and apparently Anise didn't have the means to cross the border right now.

* * *

**SKIT: KEEPING SURVEILLENCE**

_Character(s): Luke_

**Luke ****_(annoyed):_** *Sigh* How the hell did I end up being stuck with so many cold-hearted—

_Cassia enters._

**Cassia ****_(default):_** Hello, Luke.

**Luke ****_(shocked):_** Gah! _(angry)_ Dammit, Cass! You really need to wear a bell or something!

**Cassia ****_(contemplative):_** I don't… think that would be the best idea. Wouldn't it get annoying?

**Luke ****_(annoyed):_** Tch, never mind. _(default)_ You need something?

**Cassia ****_(default):_** Oh, yes. I just wanted to thank you for standing up to Jade about Arietta… Neither Guy nor Ion said anything at first, and I feel like Tear agreed with him. He just…_ (worried)_ It didn't seem like he would have stopped if it was just me in the way.

**Luke ****_(upset):_** I doubt he would have stopped. I don't trust that old man.

**Cassia****_ (worried):_** I feel the same... But there isn't much we can do about this as it stands. _(default)_ I would like to keep an eye on him. May I take over your night watches?

**Luke****_ (default):_** Yeah, that's fine. _(happy)_ Lemme know if there's something up with him, will you? (Someone to keep Jade from murdering us all _and_ I get out of night watch? Could this conversation be any better?)

* * *

**Author's Note: Structure sucks and is ruining Lord of the Rings for me. But here's a chapter since I needed a break from this class. Hoped you enjoyed it and the skit.  
**


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